Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the newsmakers of the day – the winners and losers – who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life, or detracted from it, in some significant way.

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Asshole           Volusia County School Board

“This week you’re in, next week you’re out – run in circles, scream and shout!”

–The Lament of the Volusia County Teacher

After being caught in a baldfaced lie during a terribly awkward vignette played out at a School Board meeting last month – an embarrassing moment when our elected dullards attempted to distance themselves from the political fallout surrounding the district’s brazen attempt to decertify the union representing teachers and paraprofessionals – now it appears the board has reconsidered…

As I understand it, last week the board’s contract labor attorney responded to Florida’s Public Employees Relations Commission advising that the board will not file an “official challenge” to Volusia United Educator’s recertification after all – but not before huffing that the board still believes VUE submitted inaccurate information to PERC… 

I think the French call that L’esprit de l’escalier – that perfect repartee that occurs to you upon reaching the bottom of the staircase following a spat, the perfect comeback you might have used to overwhelm your rival had you thought of it earlier… 

The response came after the School Board met behind closed doors – in a dubious “executive session” outside the public eye – apparently to discuss how they would respond to the growing controversy that just weeks ago board members claimed to know nothing about? 

Weird…

The damage is done.  Chairwoman Jamie Haynes and the current members of the board are now political lepers – and no one will trust them again.   

And the hits just keep on coming…  

This week, the Volusia County School Board once again earned the “Asshole” award for their complete lack of strategic budgeting and forethought that has resulted in continuing chaos at district schools. 

Now, “budget adjustments” have caused an incredibly anxious Spring Break for teachers and staff who are left to wonder where and what they will be doing next as the district adopts a new methodology for staffing allocations during the 2024-25 school year.

Last week, the district sent an email to all teachers and staff announcing that federal COVID-19 funds have expired, and principals will now be required to staff critical instructional positions according to the needs of their school.

According to an excellent report by WKMG-6 who broke this disturbing story last week:

“The district said it received nearly $200 million in that funding over the last four years.

“We’re having to make the appropriate modifications to go back to our budget as we lived before the pandemic,” said board member Ruben Colon.

Now, Deputy Superintendent Rachel Hazel said the district will give each school a budget for the principal to work with.

She explained that if the principal can’t afford a teacher, that teacher will have options. Hazel said they could transfer to another school where there are vacancies.”

What the horribly redundant Deputy Superintendent failed to explain is why no one in a position of responsibility thought to determine – with enrollment remaining the same (or expected to increase in the face of explosive growth) – how to best maintain essential staffing levels using its astronomical $1.4 billion budget, knowing that federal pandemic funding would end?   

Instead, with funding returning to pre-pandemic levels, it appears the best District CFO Todd Seis could cypher is handing principals a dry turd and telling them to make the best of it… 

So, what do you think the first casualties of the Balgobin administration’s unconscionable lack of planning will be – music, art, physical education, sports, enrichment programs, electives? 

Unfortunately, the only ones confident in their positions today are Superintendent Carmen Balgobin and her senior staff – pointless redundancies with titles like “Deputy Superintendent,” “Assistant Superintendent,” “Director,” “Assistant Director,” “Chief,” “Coordinator,” etc., etc.

By my rudimentary calculations, Superintendent Balgobin and her “Cabinet” alone command a collective $1,189,781+ annually, not counting perks and benefits.

(I say “+” because I could not find a salary for the Chief of Human Resources – find the rest for yourself here: https://tinyurl.com/msryebsw )

Perhaps more disturbing, teachers were notified that their lives are about to be upended by mass email – a missive handed down from the cloistered Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand – just before classes were dismissed for Spring Break, a move tailormade to breed fear, speculation, and anxiety for parents, students, teachers, and staff…

To add insult, according to an article by Mary Ellen Ritter writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week, educators received the email from Danielle Johnson, director of community misinformation for Volusia County Schools, who assured “With this adjustment in the allocation process, VCS will continue to offer a full continuum of programs and electives within our district.”

I wonder why Superintendent Balgobin didn’t notify her anxious staff of these sudden changes under her own hand? 

According to the News-Journal, Johnson confirmed “Teachers will not lose their jobs as a result of the budget adjustments, Johnson confirmed, but some will be “displaced” ― either transferred to a new school or assigned a new subject to teach.”

I certainly hope the Volusia County School Board will hold Ms. Johnson accountable for that assurance… 

For a group of elected officials that claim to have such care and compassion for children, I have rarely seen a board so consistently devoid of feeling, understanding, and empathy.

How about you?

Angel               Philanthropist L. Gale Lemerand

During my productive life with the City of Holly Hill, for a time, our community experienced the disastrous effects of The Great Recession, a dire period in our community’s history that resulted in far-reaching cuts to programs and essential services our citizens had come to rely on.

Upon learning of the difficult funding decisions city administrators were facing, quite unexpectedly, the great L. Gale Lemerand appeared at City Hall and graciously offered to fund an important program that benefited underserved families in our community.

Without question, demands, or recognition – Mr. Lemerand simply saw an unfulfilled need and selflessly donated the resources required to ensure those less fortunate were cared for.

I have never forgotten how one man’s noble gift in the face of such terrible uncertainty gave hope to so many during that grim time.

In an uplifting article by Daytona Beach News-Journal reporter Mark Harper, we learned that Mr. Lemerand’s extraordinary philanthropy continues to benefit and advance our community in so many wonderful ways.

According to the report, Mr. Lemerand recently gifted Bethune-Cookman University $1.4 million to assist with the renovation of two campus buildings. 

“Lemerand, a Daytona Beach entrepreneur and philanthropist, has his name on buildings, streets and scholarships at the University of Florida, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Daytona State College, as well as B-CU. The latest gift will result in the L. Gale Lemerand Academic Multiplex and the L. Gale Lemerand Football Complex.

The complexes, at the southeast corner of East International Speedway Boulevard and North Lincoln Street, will be used for academic support, meeting and office space, recruiting, locker rooms and other similar purposes to support student athletes.

“Mr. Lemerand’s generosity and commitment to furthering education in the state of Florida can’t be overstated,” said William Berry, Bethune-Cookman’s provost and acting president. “He has been a friend of the university for many years now, and we are incredibly thankful for his kindness and investment in ensuring our students have access to the best facilities possible.”

In my view, Mr. Lemerand’s transformative generosity will have a significant and sustainable impact on the lives of Bethune-Cookman University students – and the civic, social, and economic health of our community.

Bethune-Cookman also announced last week a $420,000 donation from the Daytona Beach Racing and Facilities District – along with several other generous gifts from local organizations and individuals – which brought B-CU closer to its $1 million fundraising goal in honor of the University’s 120^th Anniversary. 

In a release by Bethune-Cookman, Mr. Lemerand said, in part:

“When there [are] problems in any organization, whether it’s a college or whether it’s a business organization, there’s a lot of publicity about that. But there’s very little publicity when things start to turn around through the hard work of the current executives of this and the management of this great university. When I found out the things that have been happening behind the scenes and all the improvement and hard work that’s gone into it, it just made me feel that I just needed to do something!”

Kudos to L. Gale Lemerand and others who have so generously supported the resurrection of Bethune-Cookman University and the enduring legacy of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. 

Angel               City of Daytona Beach Charter Review Commission

Your loyal scribe passed a personal milestone yesterday with the tenth anniversary of my retirement from local government service. 

How time flies…

During my productive life, my colleagues and I formulated rules, regulations, policies, and procedures – everything from emergency management procedures to duty manuals and continuity of operations plans for worst case scenarios – always developed during times of calm, so those responsible for the safety and wellbeing of others would know how to respond effectively during times of chaos and uncertainty.   

Many times, those guidelines were the results of previous errors and omissions – because making mistakes is an ever-present part of the human condition.  But for those willing to humble themselves to the uncomfortable process, those blunders and oversights can result in valuable lessons – and lasting solutions.

That requires an open, inclusive, and vigorous process of review, input, and reevaluation – always adjusting course to meet changing needs, correct immediate problems, and anticipate future challenges.   

While spontaneity and impulsiveness may be fun at picnics, political impetuosity and recklessness can prove disastrous when it comes to the functions and administration of government. 

That’s why a city or county’s governing document is so important. 

According to the National Civic League, since its introduction in 1915, the “council-manager” form of governance has become the most widely used structure in local governments serving populations over 10,000. 

Although the model has been refined over the years, the fundamental principle remains, “…that all powers of the city be vested in a popularly elected council, which appoints a professional manager who is continuously responsible to and removable by the council, remains the same.”

How those essential functions and responsibilities of government are administrated are embodied in the governing charter.

Over the next several months, the City of Daytona Beach will undertake the important task of reviewing and updating the city charter with the assistance of a civic-minded group comprised of Anne Ruby, Paul Zimmerman, Chris Bowler, Harry Lloyd, Phyllis Terri Malia, Ida Wright and Steve Miller.  Alternates will include Sandy Murphy, John Kenyon, Jack White, William Kamer, Katienna Brown, Russell Wetherington and Frederick Brown.

The Charter Review Commission will consider citizen input on everything from term limits for elected officials to ensuring public input in policy decisions, land use regulations, advisory boards and more, then present their suggestions in a final report to the City Commission on June 5. 

According to the City of Daytona Beach:

“Any recommended changes will be presented to the City Commission for authorization and two public hearings will be established for public input. Upon approval, a referendum is held where amendments are presented to the electorate for final adoption. The amendments will be placed on the ballot at the next general election on November 5, 2024.”

In an informative report this week by News-Journal reporter Elieen Zaffiro-Kean we learned, “City commissioners will decide what, if any, charter changes should go before Daytona Beach voters in November. Residents could also get a charter change suggestion on November’s ballot by circulating a petition and getting at least 10% of registered voters to sign it.”

(Please find the News-Journal’s report here: https://tinyurl.com/mrx8kadw )

Residents of Daytona Beach are encouraged to bring their suggestions to upcoming town hall meetings – on Monday, April 8, to be held at the Daytona Beach Police Department’s Community Room, 129 Valor Boulevard, beginning at 6:00pm – the other scheduled for 6:00pm Monday, April 22, at Schnebly Center, 1101 North Atlantic Avenue.

In my view, the charter review process embodies the best attributes of our system of self-governance – allowing everyone an opportunity to participate in formulating constructive change to the city’s governing document. 

Kudos to everyone willing to serve – and provide their valuable input in this important process.

Quote of the Week

“It was a very irregular and disappointing proceeding; after their presentations to the board, principals were sent out of the room by the chair presumably to negotiate. The plaintiff’s spokesman was not afforded his three-minute rebuttal after FDOT respondents presented.

The chair started to proceed to other agenda items, but had to be “called out” by an attendee that “public comment” had not been heard. A dozen or so speakers, representing various environmental groups, and some representing themselves as affected property owners all spoke in opposition to issuing a permit for construction of the I-95/Pioneer Trail interchange.

No one spoke in favor of the interchange. Interestingly, the “public comments” were entertained by the board while the principals were out of the room.

When the principals returned after lengthy delay, no agreements had been reached. The board made no motion on the issue; there was no discussion or “consideration” by the board; there was no vote. By default, the issue went forward to the SJRWMD executive director to issue the permit, setting aside an administrative law judge’s recommendation to deny the permit.

Overall, the St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board gets “two thumbs down.” It failed to seriously consider public input; it failed to uphold its core mission (per its website) to “protect our natural resources.”

–Rob Bridger, Ormond Beach, political committee chair of the Sierra Club, Volusia-Flagler Group, as excerpted from his Letter to the Editor, “St. Johns River Water Management Board gets ‘two thumbs down,’” Ormond Beach Observer, Tuesday, March 26, 2024

According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the purpose of the state’s five “water management” districts are to provide adequate water supply for the future, protect water quality, flood protection and floodplain management, protect natural systems.

That’s an incredible responsibility in a state growing at an estimated rate of 900 new residents per day – with a limited water supply…   

In my view, earlier this month, the St. Johns River Water Management District lived up to its checkered reputation when the regulatory agency blatantly ignored the recommendation of an administrative law judge and strategically allowed a permit for the controversial Pioneer Trail Interchange to be issued. 

What may seem shocking to the casual observer is nothing new to veteran environmentalists who, for years, have watched the SJRWMD engage in questionable permitting – including a grim period of its history when a former chairman of the SJRWMD governing board received money from public and private clients of his “environmental consultancy” to lobby for their interests in front of the very regulatory agency he oversaw…  

In my view, that weird practice reeked of the quid pro quo transactional politics we’ve come to accept as “bidness as usual” – a perfect example of how “things” work here in the Sunshine State – the biggest whorehouse in the world.

Four years ago, Judy Orcutt, President of the Clean Water Coalition of Indian River County wrote in her widely regarded primer “Here’s how to fix Florida’s water crisis”:

“DeSantis must overhaul the governing boards of all of the water management districts. Many vacancies exist and individuals should be named whose expertise is protecting and cleaning the waters of the state — not those with business-related conflicts of interest.

With strong leadership, free from political pressure and a sufficient budget, the water management districts could resolve much of Florida’s water crisis.”

What’s changed?

Unfortunately, what Mr. Bridger witnessed at the SJRWMD meeting is increasingly common in many governmental and regulatory agencies – a weird parapraxis that reveals the machinations and hidden motives – when governing boards, councils, and commissions are suddenly reminded they have skipped the critical “public comment” period and conveniently forgot to hear from the very constituents they exist to serve. 

Admittedly, I have old-fashioned notions about putting profit over people, “professionals” who knowingly compromise themselves by selling their opinions to the highest bidder, and those who would sacrifice our environment on the altar of greed.

Sound familiar?

I also believe those who have an ethical, moral, and fiduciary responsibility for developing and enforcing regulations designed to protect our dwindling natural places should always err on the side of caution and conservation – ensuring a fair and impartial playing field for challenges to direct threats to our natural systems. 

That begins with meaningful and well-considered input from all stakeholders.   

And Another Thing!

The current iteration of the Volusia County Council has created a highly effective diversion by dreaming up solutions to non-existent problems and wasting precious time in mock debate of benign issues while the pressing problems of our time go unaddressed.

Last week, Councilman Danny Robins created another tempest in a teapot by suggesting the repeal of an ordinance requiring a three-day waiting period and criminal background checks for firearm purchases at gun shows held on property accessible to the public. 

According to the staff report, the ordinance was enacted in 1999 and a similar attempt to repeal the rule was brought before the Council in August 2013, although no action was taken. 

It is increasingly apparent Danny spends his ample idle hours poring over county ordinances, choosing the ones he disagrees with, then dreaming up self-aggrandizing agenda items to get his picture in the newspaper…

In his own inimitable way, Mr. Robins donned his powdered wig and melodramatically crowed, “Repealing this policy has everything to do with good versus evil, and forcing free people to wait, forcing them into a state of unarmed helplessness.”

Look, I happen to be a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment.  The Constitution of the United States ensures that law-abiding citizens have an inalienable right to own and bear firearms, and that protection should never be infringed by an overreaching government. 

Period.  Full stop.    

I just question if this ordinance is the most pressing issue facing Volusia County in 2024?   

The only person to speak on the matter during public comment was Deltona City Commissioner Dana McCool, who recounted a heartbreaking family tragedy that she believes could have been prevented had a waiting period been in effect. 

“I haven’t heard horrible things about when people don’t get guns, but I’ve heard horrible things about when people do get guns,” she said.

In addition, Councilman Jake Johansson seemed troubled by the possibility of repealing the ordinance when he spoke of a Harvard study that found waiting periods are somewhat effective in preventing homicides involving firearms and countered that a waiting period does not prohibit a person from buying a firearm, only delays the purchase. 

Of course, the item gave Councilman Don Dempsey the opportunity to mutate into the theoretical “reasonable man” (I assume to deflect from the fact he wants to frivolously piss away $10+ million of our tax dollars on a motocross track?) who averred, “Just because something’s illegal doesn’t mean the bad guys can’t get their hands on it.  So all we’re doing now is punishing law-abiding citizens from their ability to get a gun quickly.”

Meanwhile, Chairman Jeff Brower cloaked himself as Hooterville’s own a constitutional scholar and pontificated from the dais, “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. For 200 years we’ve been infringing.”

Now, I’m not sure what Chairman Brower is trying to say (and I’m not convinced he knows how to say it) but he fell right in line with his “colleagues,” once again wasting valuable time on another manufactured issue while Rome burns…   

Meanwhile, here in the Real World, Ormond Beach Holdings, LLC – the developers of a proposed 137-unit hotel on A-1-A at the dilapidated Seminole Avenue approach in Ormond Beach – are seeking to pullback plans to build a sidewalk that would facilitate ADA compliant public access to the beach after Volusia County declined the amenity citing “maintenance and liability” issues. 

Say what?  

The last I checked, public beach access and maintenance are the sole authority of Volusia County and its sluggardly “Coastal Division” – whose very reason for existing is to “Manage, maintain and improve coastal parks, beach access and coastal recreational facilities for the quality-of-life benefit of residents and visitors.”

So what gives?

According to an excellent report by Jarleene Almenas in the Ormond Beach Observer this week:

“An Oct. 16, 2023, email from county staff to the city stated that the county already provided public access to the beach with the Seminole Avenue beach approach, and, that the hotel developers could deed it or provide an easement to the county if they wanted to. But, the county would not maintain it, and suggested that the city or the hotel developers could do so instead.

Ormond Beach Holdings LLC told city staff that they are willing to build the sidewalk — but would not have proposed it in the first place if they knew they would be required to maintain it and provide liability insurance, according to the city staff report.

The Planning Board inquired what the cost of maintaining the sidewalk would be. City Planning Director Steven Spraker said that he didn’t have an exact cost at the time of the meeting, “there certainly is a cost.”

“There’s also an unintended consequence, because the city doesn’t maintain beach access,” Spraker said. “… That is a function of the county, so now you are assuming a county function, and that may lead to other assumptions or other demands in the future.”

While I rarely agree with my friend Rob Merrell, a land use attorney who represents Ormond Beach Holdings, LLC – his assessment that it is inappropriate for a private entity to maintain and accept liability for a public access sidewalk is spot on.   

According to the Observer, “We wanted to do this,” Merrell said. “We thought it was a good gesture. The county was saying they wanted it and the city wanted it.”

Earlier this month, the Ormond Beach Planning Board unanimously voted to recommend the City Commission remove the sidewalk provision from the Planned Business Development.  

Telegraphing that he has apparently never set foot on the Seminole Avenue approach, Planning Board member GG Galloway reportedly said, “I don’t know why we would want a sidewalk there when you have a roadbed ramp that is 20 feet wide.  I would much rather be walking down a road bed than a sidewalk that — by the time I got to the end of the sidewalk — may or may to have stair steps to get me down to the beach.”

Huh? 

Per usual, I’m cornfused…   

Anyone who has attempted to use the narrow Seminole Avenue approach – with reserved hotel parking to the north, and angled public parking to the south, on what is perhaps the most shabby, uninviting, and perennially closed vehicular beach access in Volusia County – knows how beneficial an ADA compliant sidewalk would be. 

Don’t take my word for it.  Drive down to the Seminole Approach (if you can find it) and see for yourself… 

The developer’s request to remove the proposed public sidewalk will be heard by the Ormond Beach City Commission on April 16.

Now, the rest of us rubes (read: Volusia County Taxpayers) should plan on shlepping the kids, beach chairs, coolers, floats, umbrellas, and other gear down an active vehicular beach approach (if it ever reopens, that is…) 

In the meantime, rather than determine why our beaches have the most down-at-the-heels approaches in the state, perhaps the Volusia County Council can waste more time finding another solution searching for a problem… 

That’s all for me.  Have a blessed Easter, everyone! 

Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the newsmakers of the day – the winners and losers – who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life, or detracted from it, in some significant way.

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Angel               City of Holly Hill

When I was young, my late father taught me that things are rarely as good or bad as we think they are. 

The events of last week proved the exception to that advice, and to say I am heartbroken is an understatement… 

Longtime readers of this alternative opinion site know that I rarely give my views on those things closest to me, including the faults and human foibles of law enforcement officers (my former career) and the City of Holly Hill (where I served for over three-decades) – neither of which are perfect – because I have an admitted bias, a conscious favoritism toward those people and institutions that I love unconditionally. 

We’re allowed to have imperfect heroes.  Is there any other kind?   

As a result, I cannot objectively express my thoughts on those subjects with any degree of honesty. 

So, I don’t.   

That doesn’t mean that I never get angry with them – question the actions and judgement of individuals, or frown on the impetus of incidents that bring discredit across my beloved organization, community, or profession. 

Despite the fact I have developed some hard bark over the years, my feelings can be hurt by those I put my faith in.   

How about you?

That’s the natural vulnerability required of those who trust, care, and love something larger than themselves.   

Anyone who doesn’t understand that should stop reading now.    

Since news broke of the Holly Hill police chief’s abrupt departure last week, I’ve heard the terrible rumors and speculation that you have – and I’ve absorbed the cheap shots and piling on from those who seized the chance to land a few low blows on me and my much-loved community. 

That’s okay.  Those things naturally circulate in times like this. 

The fact is, I know little more about the facts and circumstances than what has been reported in the media – but now, ten-years into my retirement – anything that hurts the institution of the police service I still feel like a deep phantom pain.   

While there is much I don’t understand about recent reports – what I do know is that the great privilege of my life was doing work worth doing with some incredible professionals in service to a grateful community who genuinely appreciated the effort.

What I know of honor, commitment, and service to a cause greater than my own self-interests I learned from them.

Nothing takes away from that.

My long association with the Holly Hill Police Department fulfilled my life’s dream – and gave me everything I have or will have – most profoundly an incredible sense of pride in service.

What a truly special place…

May God bless all who have ever worn the badge with pride and honorably served that wonderful community – and those beautiful and eccentric souls I had the great fortune to protect and serve those many years.

For now, I trust the process – and I believe in the resilience of a city that will celebrate 123 years this summer…

When the broken places heal (and they will) I am confident the department will be stronger on the other side. 

For all my former colleagues active and retired – and the wonderful citizens of The City with a Heart – please take care of yourselves and each other. 

I’m here for you always.

“It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: “And this, too, shall pass away.” How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! — how consoling in the depths of affliction!”

“And this, too, shall pass away…”

–President Abraham Lincoln, September 30, 1859

Asshole           Volusia County Councilman David Santiago

“Draft ordinance limiting comments to verbal comments during the general comment period.”

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF VOLUSIA COUNTY, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:

Sec. 2-66. Public participation and opportunity to be heard.

“Public comment procedures.  The Council welcomes and encourages comments from the public…”

Bullshit. 

The opening line of a now tabled draft ordinance to amend the Volusia County Council’s stilted “Rules of Order” and further limit your right as a taxpaying citizen to be heard and understood by those we elected for redress of grievances was a baldfaced lie.   

Under the ridiculous “goal” of Supporting a Solution-Oriented Culture, on Tuesday, the Volusia County Council took up another time-wasting solution looking for a problem when they discussed a draft ordinance pushed by Santiago that would have prohibited the publics ability to use electronic media – such as videos, photographs, audio recordings, or any other means of helping illustrate their point during public comments.

The mere attempt was a slap in the face to everyone who has ever taken time out of their busy day to prostrate themselves before those stone-faced gargoyles on the dais of power in DeLand.  

In my view, this was another skeevy move by Councilman David Santiago – a shameless elitist with a huge opinion of himself – who doesn’t care what you have to say. 

Apparently, since November 2023, Volusia County’s best legal minds have spent countless hours determining how to further disenfranchise citizens and discourage public participation by drafting an amendment prohibiting the use of any form of electronic media by substituting the Monarchical diktat:

Achtung, pissants!

“Comments shall be limited to verbal comments.”

Of course, Mr. Santiago disingenuously couched the amended ordinance as a means of prohibiting offensive or inappropriate material.  That prompted At-Large Councilman Jake Johansson to hare off down a dark hole that would have seen citizens submitting their supporting media to the individual council members with sufficient time to allow our detached potentates to decide (outside the public view) what they will hear and see of our petty problems – and what they will not. 

Ultimately, Councilman Santigo saw which way this brazen attempt to further muffle his constituents was heading, decided to punt this political football, and made a preemptive motion to “permanently table” any further action on the item. 

Yeah.  I know…

Don’t let your guard down, folks. 

Look for variations on the theme to be brought back in the future cloaked as a “decorum” issue, being silenced because you speak at the “wrong time” or on the wrong issue, or some other thinly veiled gag – because when it comes to formulating unique ways to censor, silence, and suppress the concerns of Volusia County residents the bureaucracy’s work is never done…

The fact is, if our elected “representatives” gave two-shits about what their long-suffering constituents think about anything – let alone the development of public policy that directly effects our lives and livelihoods – they would encourage a dialog, answer timely questions, engage in the competition of ideas, or at least acknowledge the physical presence of We, The Little People who are expected to pay the bills and keep our pieholes shut.             

My God…

Residents watching from the often-packed gallery in the chamber – or straining to hear the proceedings from home on the worst audio/video feed since Alexander Graham Bell called for Mr. Watson – are routinely forced to sit through interminable “staff reports” consisting of the monotonous drone of some senior jackleg’s emotionless recitation of a mind-numbing PowerPoint presentation…   

So, why should Volusia County taxpayers be prohibited from using digital media during their three-minute audience before our elected dullards on the dais?

In my view, despite Mr. Santiago’s eleventh-hour attempt to wipe the egg off his face – it remains the hope of Volusia County Council members that marginalized taxpayers will simply disengage from the process and go away – because their time is more valuable than yours…

I’ve said this, ad nauseum, but it has become painfully apparent that most official decisions are a foregone conclusion – hashed out ahead of time in the cloistered confines of the County Manager’s office, based solely on the political insulation of a “staff recommendation” or “public policy by off-the-agenda ambush” – which all but eliminates the need for public input or strategic thought on the critical issues.

This sense of remoteness between the average citizen and those we elect to serve our interests is becoming institutionalized, an accepted part of what passes for county governance in an environment where public policy is formed in seclusion by politically unaccountable bureaucrats.

Asshole           Palm Coast City Council

“In a stunning move, Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin this morning motioned to fire City Manager Denise Bevan, without cause. The motion carried, 3-2, with Alfin and Council members Ed Danko and Cathy Heighter in the majority. Assistant City Manager Lauren Johnston was appointed acting manager.

The three votes came from the three most pro-development members of the council, with an explicit explanation from one of them: “Denise has done a well job but I do feel that we’re moving into a different era in this city,” Council member Cathy Heighter said. “We are a rapidly growing city and we do need strong management and we do need someone that’s going to address issues.

The vote and Heighter’s comment were as clear a pair of indications as any that the council majority wanted a more development-minded manager at the till…”

–FlaglerLive!, “Palm Coast City Manager Denise Bevan Unceremoniously Fired Without Cause in 3-2 Vote on Mayor’s Motion,” Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Once again, Palm Coast Realtor/Mayor David Alfin has (literally) paved the way for more malignant sprawl with the summary termination of City Manager Densie Bevan.

Apparently working in concert with Vice Mayor Ed Danko – Realtor/Mayor Alfin passed the gavel to Danko and made the motion to fire Bevan without cause.  When things shook out, Alfin, Danko, and Councilwoman Cathy Heighter were on the winning side of the 3-2 vote, with Council members Theresa Pontieri and Nick Klufas dissenting.

Following the vote, Councilman Danko showed the complete lack of class he’s become known for, abandoned his responsibilities at the business meeting, and left the dais to campaign for a seat on the Flagler County Council at the public library – a move that drew the rightful criticism of both Pontieri and Klufas. 

According to a report in FlaglerLive!:

“Both council members hinted that Danko had shown up to the meeting only to cast the firing vote, and that he therefore knew about the vote ahead of time – what would amount to a sunshine law violation. Mayor David Alfin and Council member Cathy Heighter were also in the majority. Danko said he had no knowledge of the vote. He’d shown up just for public comment, and was intending to leave after that regardless, until Alfin told him he was passing the gavel so the mayor could make the firing motion.  

“This is going to be controversial but it is what it is,” Pontieri said at the tail end of a three and a half hour council meeting. “Our vice mayor decided to show up today to remove our city manager and then get up from the dais. I have it on very good authority that he is campaigning right now at the library and Facebook-living while doing it.”

Councilwoman Pontieri continued, “To me, this indicates two things, that there was a violation of sunshine that occurred before today’s vote, because he showed up to clearly take the gavel to support the motion, and then he left, which if there was something so pressing that he had, why even come to the meeting today. He clearly came to cast his vote for this motion. And now he’s campaigning from the library when we have a business meeting that requires voting on serious city matters. This person is running for a county position. And I take real issue with this. I know we don’t have the ability to censure up here. But this needs to be addressed. This is a problem.”

(Find the rest of this sordid story here: https://tinyurl.com/ekr6msmz )

Unbelievable.

The fact is the move to oust Bevan was politics at its worst.   

Realtor/Mayor Alfin was admittedly upset that Ms. Bevan had not delayed a shocking utility rate study that found Palm Coast will need to raise $635 million over 10 years just to keep up with growing demands on the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure. 

According to a subsequent rationalization in FlaglerLive!, the pompous Alfin said he “…wanted Bevan to be more politically attuned to the reality of an election year, and to have delayed a controversial utility rate study that could be turned to political ends until a non-election year.”

Say what?

“The utility rate hike study was presented at the beginning of an election cycle,” Alfin said. “I think that’s wrong because I think it could have been done a year ago and not become part of political pandering or footballing or whatever. The problem is when you allow it to fall on the calendar this way, I don’t know that you debate and consider it on its true merits without a thought of how this will affect the upcoming campaign, and I think at the top level of leadership, those kind of questions are very important.”

My God. 

Realtor/Mayor Alfin should understand that no one gives a damn about his self-centered political aspirations.  It is time for Mr. Alfin to put the mounting needs of his constituents over the greed-crazed profit motives of his developer friends placing people over politics…   

With Realtor/Mayor Alfin’s hastily choreographed coup d’état complete, the door is open for the pro-development majority to continue the rapid buildout of Palm Coast in the same asinine ‘cart before the horse’ strategy that is destroying the quality of life for residents across the region. 

My sincere hope is that the anxious residents of Palm Coast and Flagler County remember Alfin and Danko – and their shocking irresponsibility in the name of power and greed – come election day… 

Quote of the Week

“If your people who are best able to pay the taxes are leaving your state, and not (paying taxes), the tax burden remains the same but is now spread across fewer people who are less able to support those taxes,” he said. “So you start to see the spiral.”

A couple of the questions from Tiger Bay Club members touched on Florida’s property insurance crisis, a subject Leek − whose day job is chief legal officer for Foundation Risk Partners, a Daytona Beach insurance brokerage − has contended with for years.

“You have to think of this as a macroeconomic problem,” he said. “In the state of Florida, you are going to pay more for your property insurance than you will in many other states because the demand to get into the state of Florida is so high. People want to live here.”

Fraud led insurance companies to leave the state, so lawmakers reformed the system to make it more attractive to carriers, Leek said.

“Over time, we have had six new carriers come back into the state. We need about another six carriers, maybe a dozen, before you’ll start to feel some of what I think is going to be a more moderate increase in insurance premiums, and that’s about the best I think you can hope for in a state with this much demand on it.”

–State Representative and Chief Legal Counsel for a local Insurance Brokerage Tom Leek, Ormond Beach, as quoted by reporter Mark Harper of The Daytona Beach News-Journal, during a question-and-answer session at last week’s meeting of the Tiger Bay Club of Volusia County, Monday, March 18, 2024

I like Tom Leek. 

He’s a hometown guy.  Smart, approachable, and, in my view, he has our best interests at heart. 

However, when he says, “Fraud led insurance companies to leave the state,” I question which side of the equation Representative Leek is talking about? 

As Mr. Leek knows far better than me, there are two ways insurance companies make money – the obvious is by taking in more in premiums than they pay out in claims.  The other is investing premiums that have not yet been paid out in claims then banking the accrued interest – something the industry calls “float.” 

As many Floridians have found following hurricanes, flooding, and other disasters – getting their insurance carrier to pay legitimate claims has become a virtual impossibility – a drawn-out exercise that requires engaging public adjusters, hiring attorneys, and saber-rattling threats of lawsuits… 

An incredibly protracted and time-consuming process that certainly doesn’t benefit the policyholder… 

Last month, we learned in a News-Journal piece of a U.S. Army retiree who took the fight to Tallahassee after property insurance rates on his Daytona Beach Shores condominium skyrocketed 563% last year.

Unfortunately, that story is not an isolated incident here in the Sunshine State, where homeowners are finding astronomical increases in rates and deductibles – with a corresponding reduction in coverage. 

That’s tailormade for disaster…

Something else I question is the mindset of state and local politicians who refuse to see that allowing massive sprawl then reaping the resultant increase in state coffers results in an overcrowded and claustrophobic feeling that ultimately destroys the attraction – especially when residents, both new and established, come to realize they exist to feed the ever-expanding bureaucratic machine…

According to the News-Journal’s report:  

“Leek said Florida’s economy has been “remarkable” and “resilient,” attracting high earners who bring their income with them, helping the state to continually beat revenue projections, while states where some of those new residents are leaving, California, New York and Illinois, to contend with budget deficits.

“If your people who are best able to pay the taxes are leaving your state, and not (paying taxes), the tax burden remains the same but is now spread across fewer people who are less able to support those taxes,” he said. “So you start to see the spiral.”

That’s what I like about politicians, they can justify anything to make a partisan political statement – including finding the ‘silver lining’ in explosive development and the resultant population growth as “luxury” subdivisions blanket the width and breadth of Florida – even as longtime residents are being driven out of the state due to onerous insurance rates (if they can get coverage at all), ever-increasing taxes, fees, a lack of affordable housing, and crushing congestion…

Have you seen a corresponding decrease in your tax burden now that more, more, more “high earning” taxpayers are being shoehorned into the state like ten-pounds of shit in a five-pound bag?

Do you sense more of that “remarkable” tax revenue being used to fund necessary transportation, water, and public utilities improvements – I mean, outside those pet projects preferred by wealthy insiders who need a road here, or interchange there, to facilitate even more growth?   

Me neither.   

An ugly spiral indeed…

And Another Thing!

Well, that’s a done deal. 

The “alternative education” program known as the Riverview Learning Center is moving to the once dilapidated/now perfectly suitable campus of Osceola Elementary School.

And guess what?

There’s not a damn thing blindsided beachside residents of Ormond Beach can do about it. 

On Monday, Volusia County District Schools reluctantly held a public information meeting after School Board member Carl “Namby-Pamby” Persis received permission from his boss, Superintendent Carmen Balgobin…

In a report by Mary Ellen Ritter writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week, we learned:

“The district led Monday’s meeting. Board member Carl Persis, Riverview Principal Thomas Soli and Volusia’s Chief Operating Officer Patty Corr welcomed attendees, informed them about the alternative education program, and provided context about the district’s recent rezoning and program transfers.

They led a question-and-answer-style discussion, using questions that had previously been asked at school board and city meetings. Attendees to Monday’s meeting were also able to submit questions on an index card to be answered that night. After all questions were answered, attendees could raise their hands and when called on, ask additional questions or share personal statements.”

From what I was told by some in attendance, the “Q&A” did little to alleviate the concerns of many area residents who were kept in the dark – and rightly felt the decision to relocate the Riverview students was done without sufficient notice or the benefit of citizen input.

Sound familiar? 

One astonished Barker’s View reader described the tone of the meeting as defensive and condescendingly indifferent, with flippant or non-answers to questions.  In one instance, the district’s Chief Operating Officer Patty Corr is said to have responded to two shouted questions by threatening to end the meeting – and later admonished a citizen by scolding “Sir, don’t roll your eyes at me.” 

Whoa. 

Although district officials tried their best to couch community pushback as a NIMBY issue – derisively insinuating that citizens and nearby homeowners who oppose the relocation lack compassion for “these kids” who are experiencing “a second chance” – in fact, the primary concern of residents and city officials remains the complete lack of transparency by Volusia County Schools.

On December 5, prior to the board’s vote, the district held an informational meeting regarding the relocation – but only notified students and parents involved in the program – effectively keeping area residents and city officials in the dark.

According to the News-Journal, “While some community members came to the meeting worried about an alternative education program moving into their neighborhood, Jennifer Schwartz, a neighbor to the school, said that wasn’t the sole concern.

“I don’t want the connotation being taken out of this meeting that we’re horrible neighbors that are all up in arms because we don’t want those kids,” she said. “We want the people who are responsible for the communication and upkeep of the property to do their job.”

In a follow-up article by Jarleene Almenas writing in the Ormond Beach Observer this week, we learned that during Tuesday’s Ormond Beach City Commission meeting, Commissioner Travis Sargent called the district’s info session the “most hostile, unorganized meeting” he ever attended – and blasted the district for trying to blame the City Commission for not notifying area residents of the Riverview transfer. 

“I’m just absolutely flabbergasted at the way they treat our residents,” Sargent said. “It’s absurd.”

In addition, during Monday’s klatch, Ormond Beach City Manager Joyce Shanahan made it perfectly clear that the responsibility for this debacle lays squarely with the district.

“It is not a city commission or city staff position. It is 100% the decision of the Volusia County School Board, not Ormond Beach,” she said. “We are just like you … This is not a city commission issue. This is 100% a School Board issue.”

Kudos to Commissioner Sargent and Ms. Shanahan for standing up for Ormond Beach residents.  

On Monday, once again, Mr. Persis was left awkwardly explaining himself to suspicious constituents – hoping to convince anyone still listening that the School Board acted appropriately, regardless of how it was perceived:

“Was it anyone’s intent to keep it from you?” Persis asked. “No. Was it anything shady, underhanded? No, I guarantee you that. It’s just that we hadn’t done anything like this, and we notified the group that we thought we should and that wasn’t really what we should do.”

My ass…

In most public and private organizations that value their relationship with those they serve, leadership is held to account by those elected to represent the interests of stakeholders – and when things get so far afield that the credibility of the institution is jeopardized – conscientious leaders understand the importance of stepping aside as a matter of honor.

Apparently, that’s not the case in the district’s cloistered Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand…   

In my view, the time has come for the Volusia County School Board to ensure this is Superintendent Carmen Balgobin’s final embarrassment. 

That’s all for me.  Have a great weekend, y’all! Go Hatters!

Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the newsmakers of the day – the winners and losers – who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life, or detracted from it, in some significant way.

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Angel               Former Director of Volusia Beach Safety Andy Ethridge

The Coconut Telegraph here at Barker’s View HQ was smoking this week as rumors continue to fly over the ‘abrupt resignation’ of Volusia County Beach Safety Director Andy Ethridge, a well-respected servant/leader who worked his way from lifeguard to specialist, sergeant, captain, and deputy chief, then spent less than three-years at the helm after being promoted to Chief in June 2021.

During his tenure, former Director Ethridge oversaw the transition of law enforcement services from Beach Safety to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, short-handedly protected 47-miles of shoreline amid the challenges of recruiting and retaining qualified lifeguards, and successfully navigated a shambolic “beach management” apparatus and that ossified bureaucracy in DeLand.   

Look, I have no way of confirming or discrediting any of the disturbing claims surrounding Ethridge’s unexpected departure – let alone answering the darker questions, like “why” he would suddenly leave 28-years into a successful career marked by promotions to positions of increasing responsibility?

All we know is what slowly oozes from the cloistered Inner Sanctum at the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Building – usually in the form of a canned “press release” posted on the county’s webpage…   

In my view, of the myriad challenges facing Volusia County, the most troubling aspect is that County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald and his close coterie of deputies, lackies, and senior administrators control the flow of information with an Orwellian understanding that information = power.

They know the ultimate political protection is the ability to channel and restrict information through a single power source.  As a result, even our elected policymakers are often kept in the dark about pressing issues facing their constituents – resulting in a near-constant roil of conjecture and assumptions leading to paranoia and speculation…

That’s the danger of rumors.

I know our ‘powers that be’ hate it when I point out the obvious (I hate me too) but the fact remains, We, The Little People who pay the bills and suffer the inefficiencies of our increasingly expensive essential services have a right to know the truth. 

Like why the senior director of our Beach Safety Department left during one of the most demanding weekends of the year – and more important – who (if anyone) is performing this vital role as Spring Breakers begin to arrive? 

The “word on the street” this week is that Director Ethridge was forced to resign his position by Director of Public Protection Mark Swanson for reasons that remain murky…  

Is that true?  Hellifiknow…

What I do know is that since his appointment in 2022, Swanson has had a tumultuous run, including the ham-handed fiasco surrounding the termination of former Corrections Director Mark Flowers – and now the clumsy departure of the highly respected Andy Ethridge – even as Beach Safety struggles to attract and retain personnel. 

Now, with Swanson assuming command (?) – it appears Beach Safety will revert to yet another destabilizing period of “acting” and “interim” leadership at the beginning of a busy tourist season…

Earlier this week, I obtained a copy of Director Ethridge’s letter of resignation submitted Saturday, March 9, offering a two-week notice. 

I also received the subsequent notification to Volusia County Council members by Director of Community Misinformation Michael Ryan – a bullshit missive which sugarcoated things by thanking Ethridge for his “approximately 25-years” service (he had nearly 29-years with Volusia County) claiming the former director was “returning to his roots in law enforcement…” – except, Mr. Ethridge’s “roots” are in a lifeguard tower on Daytona Beach…

What gives?  

In the view of many, Ryan’s shockingly specious report to our elected officials disparaged Director Ethridge’s service with fabrications and inaccuracies.

More disturbing, in my view, it represents a baldfaced lie to the Volusia County Council. 

Now there are more questions than answers…

Why was last Friday Director Ethridge’s final day on the beach?

Why was there no orderly transition – or immediate notice to citizens, visitors, and our elected representatives explaining who is responsible for beach safety following Mr. Ethridge’s departure? 

If Director Ethridge was in fact forced out – why did Mr. Ryan blatantly lie to the Volusia County Council about the nature of his exit – forever destroying the trust of the elected officials and their constituents?    

And who authorized Mark Swanson to scalp a veteran senior administrator and proven asset who was described during his 2021 promotion ceremony as “revered” within the ranks of Beach Safety? 

Perhaps most important – with Andy Ethridge out, how many more dedicated public servants will flee that sinking ship at what remains of Beach Safety?  

Nearly a week later, the questions continue to swirl, and Volusia County taxpayers want to know the truth…

Last week, a veteran government watcher and civic activist summed up what many long-suffering residents have come to believe:

“They keep firing the monkeys and giving the organ grinder a pay raise.” 

How terribly sad… 

Thank you for your dedicated service, Director Ethridge. 

The nature of your departure does not define the quality of your contributions – or your many acts of courage in service to our grateful visitors and the citizens of Volusia County. 

Asshole           Volusia County School Board

The unfortunate saga continues… 

The Volusia County School Board is embroiled in various outrages, humiliations, and bruhahas spanning multiple fronts – a constant churn excruciatingly played out in the news media – leaving elected board members staring at their shoes and stammering for answers to growing questions of gross mismanagement from taxpayers, even as Superintendent Carmen Balgobin’s administration continues to operate in virtual silence.

Now, anxious stakeholders are questioning what our dullards on the dais are trying to hide?

In January, the School Board’s contract labor attorney sent formal notice to Florida’s Public Employees Relations Commission suggesting that Volusia United Educators – the union representing the district’s teachers and paraprofessionals – falsified membership records making it appear the bargaining unit had the 60% membership required by state law.

The union’s leadership vehemently denied the allegation.

Inexplicably, in February, School Board Chair Jamie Haynes arrogantly attempted to distance the board from the district’s pernicious attempt to decertify the collective bargaining unit – and denied any involvement with either the PERC correspondence or engaging the labor attorney – a cheap alibi that quickly unraveled when Volusia County School’s General Counsel Kevin Pendley admitted that each member of the board individually authorized the action…   

Yeah.  I know.  But as the Dude said, “New shit has come to light, man…”

After being caught either openly lying to their constituents – or pitifully ignorant of events unfolding in Superintendent Balgobin’s Ivory Tower of Power – on February 29, PERC gave the Volusia County School Board until last week to file a formal response “…as to whether it is challenging the Union’s registration” under applicable Florida statutes.  

Instead, the district confused everyone by asking PERC for an extension…   

Rather than exhibit the character and courage to stand before their constituents and explain themselves to those who pay the bills – or clear the air and alleviate the fears of anxious teachers and staff – our elected officials, with Chairman Haynes on the gavel, slithered out of sight into a secret closed session – apparently to discuss their pending response to PERC.

Or was it a strategy session to determine how these vainglorious phonies can best restore their soiled reputations now that they have been individually exposed as prevaricating hypocrites by the district’s General Counsel? 

Although Chairwoman Haynes went through the clearly well-coached legal maneuverings required to meet the statutory requirements of a “shade meeting” – many believed the mysterious “closed attorney/client session” stretched the limits of legislative exceptions to Florida’s Sunshine Law.

Let’s face it – either the Volusia County School Board wants to decertify the union representing its teachers and paraprofessionals and upend the collective bargaining process – or it doesn’t; but that decision should not be made in some shadowy behind-closed-doors conclave.      

In my experience, when an embarrassed elected body starts covering its tracks, things get messy. 

Once those holding high office are caught in a lie – their constituents will never trust them again – and that’s not a positive for politically vulnerable members like the wholly ineffectual Carl “Namby-Pamby” Persis who must stand for reelection later this year…

Regardless, the board’s surreptitious session was the worst political optics imaginable – sending a clear message to everyone watching that the Volusia County School Board is keeping secrets from those of us who pay the bills.

There are several takeaways from last week’s awkward executive session – the most glaring that our elected officials are either incapable or unwilling to control Superintendent Carmen Balgobin as she crashes about like a bull in a china shop – clearly unconcerned by the political realities of her elected bosses – wholly ignoring the concerns of Volusia County residents who are time-and-again surprised by her administration’s edicts and decrees formed in a bureaucratic bubble.    

Asshole           St. Johns River Water Management District

“No one can stop it. It’s on its way. We are building homes. People are moving in. Kids are playing outside,” he said.”

— Mori Hosseini, the all-powerful chairman and CEO of ICI Homes, as quoted by reporter Mark Harper in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “How David beat Goliath: Spruce Creek conservationists block I-95 interchange – for now,” February 6, 2024

As usual, Boss Hosseini was right all along.    

He “won” this week when the historically compromised St. Johns River Water Management District – the regulatory agency charged with protecting our natural resources, water quality, and natural systems – ignored the recommendation of an administrative law judge to deny a permit for the controversial Pioneer Trail Interchange and strategically allowed the permit to be issued anyway.

Just like Mr. Hosseini promised it would.   

And the unique flora and fauna of the environmentally sensitive Spruce Creek watershed lost… 

Screw ‘em.  Fish and wildlife don’t contribute to political campaigns – and they damn sure don’t purchase three-bedroom, two-bath cracker boxes “…starting in the $400’s.”

In October 2023, a small group of intrepid environmentalists and concerned residents successfully defended the sensitive Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve and environs from the threat of the proposed interchange at I-95 and Pioneer Trail by challenging a controversial stormwater permit issued by the St. Johns River Water Management District.

To say it was a ‘David & Goliath’ tale is an understatement…

In January, Administrative Law Judge E. Gary Early rightfully recommended that the SJRWMD’s stormwater permit be revoked after determining its issuance was “not in the public interest,” citing that an area of Spruce Creek has been designated an Outstanding Florida Waterway which requires special protections because of its exceptional natural attributes.

To show just how far some will stoop to see the will of powerful special interests come to fruition, during the hearing, we learned that SJRWMD engineers made the idiotic claim that the massive 74-acre paving project would somehow “…reduce phosphorus, nitrogen and other harmful elements being diverted to Spruce Creek.” 

My God.

According to a report this week by Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida, “…the district’s proposed final order backing the permit concluded that the project “is clearly in the public interest.” It said Early improperly ruled that an “extra” environmental benefit needed to be shown to find the project was in the public interest.

“In aggregate, the district determines that the applicant (the Department of Transportation) clearly demonstrated compliance with all of the regulatory criteria, including the public interest factors addressed herein, and these factors are enough to render this project ‘clearly in’ the public interest,” the proposed final order said.”

I learned this week from a local environmentalist who attended the SJRWMD meeting on Tuesday that several opponents of the interchange met outside the boardroom with officials from the Florida Department of Transportation and the district to discuss “potential changes to the project.”

Look, I’m not sure hashing out the future health and sustainability of the Spruce Creek watershed in a Palatka hallway is the proper way forward.  But sometimes that’s the best those concerned about our threatened environment can hope for here in the biggest whorehouse in the world… 

In a follow-up piece in The Daytona Beach News-Journal by reporter Mark Harper, Katrina Shadix, founder and director of Bear Warriors United spoke of possible plans for a federal appeal of the permit:

“Shadix said her coalition has “such a great federal case now,” after the district granted the permit despite the judge’s finding.

“We don’t want to be too negative and call it a banana republic and a kangaroo court,” Shadix said. “… It’s ridiculous they used this vehicle, this tool, to permit the damage to wetlands and the environmental wildlife. I just didn’t think it was a fair process.”

Anyone who cares about the future of our threatened state should applaud the courage and perseverance of these intrepid conservationists.

This one is important…

Ultimately, a heavy price will be paid by our children and grandchildren – after those influential special interests in the real estate development community have slashed, burned, and paved over every square inch of greenspace – and squeezed the last dollar out of what remains of this place we call home. 

Asshole           Volusia County Councilman Don Dempsey

“It’s been proposed and we put it on the meeting agenda about two or three months ago when each councilman talked about what they think would be their priority if they had a wish list.  My priority was a motocross facility, because we have been needing it. We are 30 years past due for one.”

–Volusia County Councilman Don Dempsey, October 2023

“We need to just let the market play itself out and quit letting government pretend that we’re the cure-all for all the issues, so I’m a hard no on this,” Dempsey said. “I think whenever we have an opportunity to stay out of people’s lives in a free economy, we need to.”

–Volusia County Councilman Don Dempsey, March 2024

Like a recalcitrant child with skewed priorities, last week, Volusia County Councilman Don Dempsey was a “hard no” in a 5-1 vote to allow more flexibility for the development of affordable housing as the chasm between the “haves” and “have nots” continues to widen here on the “Fun Coast.” 

Because I’m pathologically skeptical of the motivations of land use attorneys, real estate developers, and the sutlers and shills who make a handsome living manipulating malleable politicians while taking advantage of increasingly lax permitting, eviscerated environmental regulations, and asinine legislation such as Florida’s “Live Local Act” – I worry how these “incentives” will be abused by greed-crazed developers with a profit motive. 

Among other things, the proposed changes to the county’s Comprehensive Plan will allow expedited permitting for affordable housing projects, deferral of impact fees, and inducements such as waivers for permit and inspection fees, density bonuses, and donations of county-owned land to encourage workforce housing. 

I found it interesting that heavy-hitters – such as Cobb Cole land use and real estate lawyers Mark Watts, Jessica Gow, and Nika Hosseini – worked with county staff to formulate the changes that many hope will incentivize affordable housing in Volusia County.

During the discussion, Councilman Danny Robins voiced his concerns – stating that he wanted the same permissive rules to apply across the spectrum of development (apparently not realizing that influential real estate developers have already been given carte blanche to blanket the width and breath of Florida with “luxury” cookie cutter subdivisions) – but that didn’t stop Mr. Robins from championing the cause of his campaign benefactors…

Whatever. 

But it was the obstinate opposition of Councilman Dempsey that seemed most misplaced.

Apparently, the hypocritical Mr. Dempsey would have us believe he gives two-shits about these relaxed regulations facilitating more, more, more development amidst rising concerns of increased traffic, environmental impacts, sardine-like density, and widespread flooding – because his ludicrous argument about keeping government out of the marketplace rings hollow as he actively lobbies to blow $10.2 million in public funds on a state-of-the-art commercial motocross facility. 

(Excuse me.  I just choked on my Tullamore Dew…)

According to an excellent report by the News-Journal’s Sheldon Gardner:

“Dempsey, a lawyer, is “heavily involved in the real estate market,” he said. A financial disclosure form showed that he was worth over $4.5 million as of June 1, 2023, with a large chunk coming from real estate. Among his assets listed were three rental properties in DeLand that bring in $3,750 a month.

He said he’s seen the real estate market fluctuate.

“We need to just let the market play itself out and quit letting government pretend that we’re the cure-all for all the issues, so I’m a hard no on this,” Dempsey said. “I think whenever we have an opportunity to stay out of people’s lives in a free economy, we need to.”

I don’t make this shit up, folks…

Look, I don’t think anyone who has experienced this willy-nilly explosive growth in Volusia County supports allowing quick-buck artists to swoop in and exploit these permitting and financial incentives for more sticks-and-glue “projects” – or infilling established neighborhoods with substandard housing done ‘on-the-cheap’ – and I found it chillingly telling when powerful land use attorneys stood before the Volusia County Council and vigorously patted our Growth and Resource Management Director Clay Ervin on the head (Goo-boy, Clay!  Good Boy!).   

Disturbing…

But with an increasing number of Volusia County families considered asset limited/income constrained – watching the dream of homeownership (or reasonable rentals) evaporate in an environment where the median sale price of a single-family home is now $361,667 – it is time our ‘powers that be’ focus on safe and affordable workforce housing.

I’m not talking about the same laissez-faire approach to general development we have seen from state, county, and municipal governments – but a visionary strategy focusing on infill, renewal, and rehabilitation in challenged neighborhoods.    

According to the News-Journal, during the meeting, Attorney Nika Hosseini explained to our dullards on the dais the importance of supporting these affordable housing initiatives – while taking a clear swipe at Councilman Dempsey’s faux-concern of government skewing the marketplace:

“The nurse that helps you at the hospital, where is she or he supposed to live when they’re just getting started? To say that this is about development or that the market will simply handle itself is, frankly, pretty appalling in my opinion,” she said. “We are supposed to be a community of individuals that help each other.”

While I appreciate Ms. Hosseini’s passion for those less fortunate – I would argue that many of the developers who are actively paving over Volusia County and beyond have been less than receptive to incorporating affordable housing into their many projects… 

In my view, like any other government “incentive,” affordable housing enticements require strict oversight from those charged with regulating what passes for growth and resource management. 

In my experience, good things rarely result when the fox is given unfettered access to the henhouse in the name of “incentivizing” development.    

Unfortunately, supervision and accountability has never been a strong suit in Volusia County government, and time will tell if last week’s measure will be a blessing, or a curse…

Quote of the Week  

“Bouaziz said he is “far more than unimpressed” with how the school and school district has handled this incident thus far.

“(I’m) disturbed,” he said. “The problem is, where’s the line? What if, instead of yelling ‘retarded’ at them or calling them all ‘retarded,’ she had put her hands on somebody? Right? Or she had, you know, called a kid the n-word? Right? Like, where’s the line that, that causes the school system to take this … seriously?”

Bouaziz said he is also concerned by the lack of transparency from the school and district.

“It makes me feel like the school system as a public entity doesn’t respect or care about the parents who fund it, right?” he said. “The complete lack of communication and just trying to sweep it under the rug until DCF stepped in was just a pretty bad play.”

— Cypress Creek Elementary parent Karim Bouaziz, as quoted by reporter Mary Ellen Ritter writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Cypress Creek Elementary teacher under investigation for using derogatory term for students,” Monday, March 11, 2024

(Please find the rest of this disturbing story here: https://tinyurl.com/25hurw76 )

Not much surprises me when it comes to the faults and foibles of human nature.  

As a horribly jaded cynic, I rarely expect the “best” from people – that’s a recipe for disappointment…

During my career in public service, I made my share of embarrassing gaffes and missteps – an experiential education that can teach valuable lessons to those willing to humble themselves and learn from their mistakes.

We all have bad days, and most people can forgive what they see themselves doing. 

I’ve said things I regret in a pique of anger or stress. 

How about you?

In my experience, it sounds like this unfortunate incident could be resolved with a sincere apology, refocusing, and stress management techniques.  It is how Volusia County District Schools left a parent feeling their complaint was “swept under the rug” due to a “complete lack of communication” that I find disturbing.    

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident in Superintendent Carmen Balgobin’s cloistered Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand…

Sometimes those in high profile positions attempt to protect themselves by circling the wagons, going mute, and protecting the status quo at all costs.  That’s when perception becomes reality for those of us peering through the greasy pane in the portcullis that separates citizens from their government.

Without exception, it is how an organization – especially one funded by tax dollars – communicates with those it exists to serve that either builds a reputation for transparency and trust – or one of confusion, chaos, and suspicion.

Sound familiar Osceola Elementary parents and Ormond Beachside residents?   

I understand that details of pending personnel matters cannot – as a matter of policy and collective bargaining agreements – be disseminated to the public; but when the media or concerned residents call, organizations can take the opportunity to explain the process to those looking on, address the concerns of stakeholders, and maintain an open and inviting path for those seeking to provide input on necessary policy revisions. 

In my view, that avoids quotes in the newspaper like, “It makes me feel like the school system as a public entity doesn’t respect or care about the parents who fund it…”

It also helps if those at the top actually care about those they serve – rather than covering their own ass.

Trust me.  I know better than most how easy it is to sit in the cheap seats and snipe and sneer at those ‘actually in the arena’ who stumble doing work worth doing.  It’s kind of a hobby of mine…

I also know the importance of shining a bright light on the pervasive mismanagement, misinformation, and inefficiencies that erode trust in government and those institutions we rely on.

Establishing a culture of doing the right thing, for the right reasons, costs nothing. 

And it means everything…

In my view, it is time our elected representatives begin to examine how Superintendent Balgobin and her senior staff can get it so wrong, so often?  

And Another Thing!

Earlier this week, we learned a few lessons about what works – and what doesn’t – when it comes to the “revitalization” of Downtrodden Downtown Daytona.

We also learned how much that renaissance can cost…

In the fall of 2017, insurance magnate King J. Hyatt Brown, gathered his loyal subjects before him at an “invitation only” event – and announced bold plans to construct his Grand Headquarters on Beach Street – something HRH J. Hyatt’s handmaidens in government and industry hailed as the ultimate panacea for Daytona Beach’s perpetually struggling downtown.

It was the very answer to our collective prayers – a catalyst for transformative success.

At the time, then City Manager Jim “The Chisler” Chisholm gushed, “It’s a game changer for the downtown area,” and Dr. Kent Sharples of that mysterious camera stellata over at the CEO Business Alliance swooned, “It’s the biggest and best thing that’s happened since General Electric in terms of the number of jobs created, salary, and impact on our community.”

Just weeks later, both the City of Daytona Beach and the County of Volusia ponied up millions-of-dollars in public infrastructure improvements, financial incentives, and property tax abatement – which, we were told, would assist Brown & Brown in obtaining even more tax credits from the State of Florida for the promised six hundred “new high-paying jobs” the HQ would bring to Daytona Beach.

The town was abuzz with exciting words like “rejuvenation,” “recovery,” and “revitalization” – as our ‘powers that be’ assured skeptical taxpayers that downtown restaurants, boutiques, and bars would be brimming with free spending insurance executives – something that gave strapped area merchants reason to hang on by their splintered fingernails just a little while longer…

To prepare for the second coming of the once vibrant Downtown Daytona, taxpayers acquiesced to a plan that gifted the riverfront park to HRH J. Hyatt for his lavish “esplanade” – with the Brown’s generously donating $35+ million and the citizens of Daytona Beach agreeing to pony up some $800,000 annually for upkeep. 

In addition, a bizarre plan was hatched to replace a perfectly serviceable streetscape, a project that further disrupted Beach Street…

Remember?

And who can forget the continuing boondoggle that became the publicly subsidized (and horribly misnamed) First Step Shelter – a $6 million magic potion born of a shambolic process that began with a 2014 ($135,000) “study” which recommended a 250 bed come-as-you-are homeless shelter – before morphing into an insanely expensive social program that takes homeless people who submit themselves to a mysterious process and, we hope, magically ends in sustainable permanent housing…   

But what about those who don’t want to participate in First Step’s convoluted “get your shit together” program? 

Well, according to an informative article by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week – a story that read like a Steinbeck novel – at least some of those ambulatory drunks, lunatics, vagrants, and malevolent vagabonds (who apparently didn’t get an invitation to HRH J. Hyatt’s Grand Plan) have once again turned Downtown Daytona into an unsafe and unsanitary “battleground.”

According to the disturbing report:

“For nearly 14 years, Sweet Marlays’ Coffee has been serving up freshly brewed java, delectable desserts and a sun-filled retreat overlooking the Halifax River across the street.

At times it’s also been a battleground between shop owner Tammy Kozinski and the vagrants who wander inside the Beach Street café to lobby for free food, rant for no particular reason, urinate on the floor and steal. One angry man recently cursed at Kozinski and threw his cup of hot coffee at her.”

Whoa. 

I guess publicly subsidized glass and steel office buildings and elaborate “transitional programs” aren’t the cure-all we were promised, eh?

Please find the rest of the News-Journal’s interesting exposé here: https://tinyurl.com/2fhzr8zt

Now, the City of Daytona Beach has formulated a plan that will bring the same private security service that patrols the squeaky-clean Brown Esplanade to the mean streets of downtown to take on these marauding miscreants head-to-head… 

According to the News-Journal, “The city is getting ready to launch a (60-day) pilot program that will provide security officers six days a week along Beach Street between Orange Avenue and International Speedway Boulevard, where the city’s redevelopment director said “most of the issues have been.”

“Two unarmed officers will cover foot patrol shifts from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Sunday, and when they see problems they’ll use their radios to summon police for help.”

After meeting with downtown merchants to discuss their concerns, Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry announced the plan during a public meeting last week.

I agree with Mayor Henry.  This idea has legs.

Literally, four of them, walking a beat on Beach Street… 

(I hear you, “Who is behind that keyboard and what have you done with our beloved Barker the Bitcher?”)   

Listen – rather than put the cost on the backs of already tax-strapped Beach Street residents and merchants, the program – estimated at $2,400 per week for two officers – will be underwritten from the reinvestment of Downtown Redevelopment Area funds under City Manager Deric Feacher’s discretionary spending authorization.   

According to the report, “If the city wants to make the guards permanent, it will have to put out a request for proposals. City staff would choose the bidder with the lowest cost who met all the city requirements. City commissioners would then make the final decision.”

In my view, with the City of Daytona Beach preparing to invest $30 million on needed upgrades to Jackie Robinson Ballpark – and $12 million on more streetscaping at the north end of Beach Street – using redevelopment funds to better secure the core downtown commercial area without further burden on struggling business owners is a sound idea. 

But the $1.5 million-per-year question remains – with the First Step Shelter continuing to pick and choose who they will accept into the “shelter program” and who will be turned away – where will those aggressive “vagrants” go when they are once again displaced from Downtown Daytona? 

That’s all for me.  Have a great St. Patrick’s Day, y’all!

Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the newsmakers of the day – the winners and losers – who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life, or detracted from it, in some significant way.

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Angel               Volusia County Councilman Troy Kent

In 2021, Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower attempted to make good on his primary campaign promise and announced he wanted the council to consider eliminating beach access tolls for county residents.

His compassionate rationale was the fact taxpayers already pay for beach management and maintenance and should not be billed twice. 

It was a key plank of his successful 2020 run – a topic Mr. Brower had become known for after more of our beach was closed to driving by an asinine 2015 ordinance benefitting Hard Rock Daytona – and access tolls were doubled in 2018, with a day at the beach going from $10 to $20, prompting residents who could afford it to opt for the $25 annual pass.

Both issues remain contentious points for many who live and pay taxes in Volusia County.   

Unfortunately, Mr. Brower’s idea was dead on arrival – a non-starter that never enjoyed the support of Volusia’s “Old Guard” – those influential insiders who control the rods and strings of county government. 

To anyone paying attention, it was abundantly clear that when Brower beat the “darling of the donor class” and upset the carefully crafted succession plan of our ‘powers that be,’ his bread was never going to land jelly-side-up again…    

Equally unfortunate was the fact Chairman Brower did not appear to have an articulable plan for feeding the insatiable bureaucratic machine by replacing the revenue lost by eliminating residential beach access fees.

Of course, Brower took a public thrashing at the hands of his “colleagues,” with Councilman Danny “Gaslight” Robins accusing him of engaging in “pay to play” politics and manipulating public policy “…so the chair’s friends can drive on the beach for free.”

At the time, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported on Robins’ ridiculous projection:

“You are feeding your base support, only with other people’s money. Welcome to the swamp,” Robins said from the dais Tuesday. “Talk about ‘bought and paid for’ and ‘pay to play,’ something you campaigned — and we all campaigned — so hard on.”

The goading and badgering continued…

“You are only one vote. That is it. Everyone, including staff, is not subservient to you and the beach crowd. This isn’t a dictatorship. There is no room in here any longer for a bully,” Robins said.

By October 2021, Chairman Brower proposed a revenue generating plan in support of his plan to eliminate tolls for residents by allowing naming rights and sponsorship of beach access points – something that was roundly panned by the I Hate Brower Brigade when it was first discussed earlier that year. 

In short, because doing away with beach tolls for residents was Jeff Brower’s idea – it never had a snowball’s chance in hell… 

Business as usual in the Kingdom of the Status Quo.

Then, in March 2023, freshman County Councilman Troy Kent brought forward a well-thought idea to eliminate access tolls for Volusia County taxpayers.

To his credit, unlike Mr. Brower – Kent’s proposal came with a carefully considered solution. 

According to Mr. Kent’s plan, Volusia County would charge out-of-town visitors more for vehicular beach access and off-beach parking and generate enough additional revenue to reduce the burden on residents.

In my view, Kent presented a workable strategy for making our greatest natural resource a more fun and accessible place for Volusia County families – a plan that was uncomplicated, well-organized, and clearly communicated.

At the time, the council voted 4-3 to table any further discussion of changing beach access and parking fees – with Jeff Brower, Troy Kent, and Don Dempsey (who wanted to raise fees) voting against the Old Guard’s gag order.

Then, on Tuesday, Mr. Kent’s suggestion was resurrected during a staff presentation on automating tolls and parking fees – using license plate readers, cameras, credit card kiosks, fully automated access at low volume beach ramps, and a bombshell idea – complimentary annual parking registration for Volusia residents. 

Yep.  You read that right. 

Using Councilman Kent’s funding plan, if adopted, out-of-town visitors would pay $30 per day for beach access (and $20 for off-beach parking) with enhanced fines for violators – generating sufficient revenue to off-set allowing Volusia County residents to access our beach without additional cost. 

Now, county staff will return with the necessary ordinances and legalities – including a “sunset clause” which will require the resident exemption be formally renewed by action of the council on a date certain.

Keep your fingers crossed…

In my view, Mr. Kent’s refreshing proposal represents the first solid improvement to area beaches since the misguided 1986 charter amendment that allowed Volusia County to seize control of the strand from beachfront municipalities and enact homogenized “uniform rules,” eliminating the distinctive characteristics that made Halifax area beaches a destination for millions of families.    

The rest, as they say, is history – as our horribly mismanaged beach became miles of “do this/don’t do that” sign pollution, wooden poles, traffic cones, unchecked erosion, closed ramps, walkovers, etc., etc. – now totally devoid of anything fun or unique.   

Speaking of history… 

In 2014, when Mr. Kent served as the District 2 representative to the Ormond Beach City Commission, he called for giving the cities a meaningful say on beach issues, “In my opinion, this beach is a broken system.  I’ve been taking it, and taking it and taking it. … I’m not taking it anymore.” 

At the time, several elected officials from other coastal municipalities suggested forming a beach advisory board – formally recognized by the Volusia County Council – that would give local governments, residents, and beachside businesses a voice on beach management, access, and maintenance. 

Obviously, that never happened.

In my view, Mr. Kent is on the right track, and I applaud his efforts on behalf of Volusia County families.  Now that he has a seat at the table in DeLand – the beach advisory board is another great idea ripe for resurrection.   

Asshole           Volusia County School Board

It was ‘put up or shut up’ time for members of the Volusia County School Board this week. 

Per usual – they did neither… 

As you may recall, on January 18, the School Board’s contract labor attorney sent formal notice to Florida’s Public Employees Relations Commission suggesting that Volusia United Educators – the union representing teachers and paraprofessionals in the district – falsified membership records making it appear the bargaining unit had the 60% membership required by state law. 

The leadership of Volusia United Educators vehemently denied the spurious allegation – with VUE President Elizabeth Albert describing the board’s actions as “disappointing” and “malicious.”

Last month, Chairwoman Jamie Haynes desperately attempted to separate the board from the growing public perception that the elected body engaged in union busting tactics – saying unequivocally that the elected board members had no part in the district’s communications with PERC – and never authorized the hiring of an outside attorney.

With a haughty air of indignance, Chairwoman Haynes puffed, “It has been stated that we – the five of us – have gone after the union,” – then proceeded to assure everyone watching that the board did not authorize the hiring of an outside attorney – and, in fact, no one on the board had any knowledge of the district’s correspondence to PERC.

Bullshit. 

Unfortunately for Chairwoman Haynes and her fellow dupes on the dais – that assertion was shattered in dramatic fashion by Volusia County Schools General Counsel Kevin Pendley, who reported that at Superintendent Carmen Balgobin’s direction, he individually communicated with each of the elected board members – and all five agreed to the district sending the notification to PERC.

After getting caught either openly lying to their constituents – or pitifully ignorant of events unfolding in Superintendent Balgobin’s Ivory Tower of Power – last week, the Public Employees Relations Commission gave the Volusia County School Board until yesterday to file a formal response “…as to whether it is challenging the Union’s registration” under applicable Florida statutes.    

Perhaps PERC was as confused by the School Board’s machinations as everyone else?

In my view, denying their surreptitious involvement in commissioning the accusatory correspondence to PERC – a blatantly untrue statement that was publicly refuted by the district’s General Counsel – effectively exposed the School Board’s complicity in Superintendent Balgobin’s attempt to decertify Volusia United Educators and besmirch the character and reputation of its leadership.

Regardless of your views on public sector unions – this outrageous backstabbing should not be ignored.

Volusia County taxpayers deserve answers. 

They deserve the truth…   

While it is one thing for public employers and unions to fervently disagree on important issues during the collective bargaining process – even coming to impasse at times – it is quite another when the district’s administration actively works to decertify the organization, while the elected body that oversees it falsely denies any knowledge of the pernicious activity.

That speaks of something more disturbing – more ominous…

Time will tell how the School Board responds to the PERC request for clarification of their motives.  As I understand it, the district’s labor attorney has asked for an extension until March 15, and the board will meet in executive session today to decide how they wish to proceed…   

In another development this week, concerned Ormond Beach residents attended their City Commission meeting to demand answers about why their elected representatives on the School Board took action to move the Riverview Learning Center – an “alternative education” program for students who can’t follow the rules – to the former Osceola Elementary campus.

According to an excellent article in the Ormond Beach Observer, we learned:

“Resident Lindsey Wolf said she and her neighbors, all who live by Osceola, were never notified of a Dec. 5, 2023, community meeting to discuss the transfer. She was also concerned that having an alternative educational facility in the neighborhood would negatively impact property values. 

“The amount of buyers who look for homes based on the schools in the area is astronomical,” she said. “To think that having a school like that in our neighborhood wouldn’t have a detriment impact is putting your head in the sand.”

I’m not sure “sand” is where our Volusia County School Board member’s heads are wedged… 

According to the report, District 4 board member Carl “Namby-Pamby” Persis attended the Commission meeting and agreed that Ormond Beach residents were not adequately informed of the December 5 meeting. 

“Persis said he thought that was strange, and when he asked the district about it, staff told him a mailer wasn’t sent. Instead, a notice of the meeting was posted on the district’s website and on their social media.

“But, unless you have kids in school, you’re not looking at the Volusia County Schools website or anything else affiliated with it,” Persis said. “I thought, ‘Well, that’s a major error right there.’”

Persis said a community meeting is necessary — both to make amends and explain what students Riverview sees. These are not kids that are dangerous, he said.

“It makes me feel so sad that we’re talking about children,” Persis said.”

Amends?

Look, I’m just spit-balling here, but Mr. Persis should understand that taxpaying homeowners get weepy too – especially when they watch detached politicians make critical decisions detrimental to their property values and quality of life in a virtual vacuum – with little, if any, input from those impacted. 

In my view, this chaos and confusion sends a clear signal of how little our elected “representatives” respect their constituents – or their sworn oath to “well and faithfully” perform their duties in the public interest.     

I hope you will remember that at the ballot box this year… 

 Quote of the Week

“Homeowners in Deland told FOX 35 News that they have been battling flood water since neighborhoods were built nearby at higher elevations.

JC Figueredo and his family bought over a dozen acres of Volusia County land in 2016 to build their dream home.

“It was flat,” he said. “It was dry. This is what life has turned into for us.”

A submerged driveway and several feet of water surrounded his property off Jackson Woods Road. In 2018, the homes behind his property started going up as part of the Victoria Park and Sawyer’s Landing neighborhood in the City of DeLand – all built at a higher elevation.

“As soon as construction started with a lot of the retention, we started having standing water issues,” Figueredo said.

He provided FOX 35 with aerial images from a geographical consulting firm study that showed his land without flooding for decades before the construction. It’s not just affecting Figueredo’s home. Lisa Latham has a farm next door. She said her pasture hadn’t been dry in four years.

“I have cows in my front yard now because there’s no pasture and nowhere to put my cows,” she said.

Just down the road lives Ronnie Mills, who built his home 15 years ago.

“What you’re looking at here is my pasture – this is not a lake,” Mills laughed.

The homeowners live in flood zone X, which is known as the zone with the lowest risk of flooding in all of Florida.

“I’ve had this property since the ‘70s, and we’ve never seen this,” Mills said.”

–As excerpted from a report by Fox35 Orlando’s Amanda McKenzie, “Flooding fears in DeLand have homeowners on edge: ‘The infrastructure is ruined,’ Thursday, February 29, 2024

(Find the disturbing story here: https://tinyurl.com/msh48zu5 )

I understand petty politics and the self-serving motivations of those who practice it.

But I despise the stench of lies…

This week’s response to Fox35 Orlando’s eye-opening exposé of serious flooding concerns in Wild West Volusia was an interesting window into how far some elected officials will sink to run interference for their well-heeled supporters in the real estate development industry – while completely ignoring their sworn responsibilities to long-suffering constituents.

According to the report by Fox35’s Amanda McKenzie, some West Volusia residents have lost their homes – or are on the verge of having their lives destroyed – due to persistent flooding, something many have attributed to the proliferation of surrounding subdivisions, a problem County Council Chair Jeff Brower admitted both Volusia County and the City of DeLand have known about for the past five-years…

“It’s a lot worse now,” Brower said.

He said he agrees with the homeowners that the development has resulted from the flooding.

To be clear, the Victoria Park and Sawyer’s Landing neighborhood developers followed county and city guidelines and did everything legal before putting in the development.

“The developers aren’t breaking the law,” Brower said. “We’ve got to change our development pattern and stop approving every development that’s doing the exact same thing, paving over acreage and putting in a retention pond and thinking that we can hold all of that water in a retention pond that used to be dispersed over hundreds of acres.”

According to DeLand officials, aerial photographs from 2005 show some standing water in the area. 

If that’s true, why in the hell did city and county officials allow anyone to build anything – let alone a subdivision – in identified flood-prone areas in the first place?  And why are those same complicit developer shills still receiving public funds to serve in the public interest?

“Brower said he does not want to see this happen again.

“I am not willing to approve another single development in Volusia County until we know how to deal with this situation,” Brower said.”

That clearly didn’t sit well with Volusia County Councilman Danny “Gaslight” Robins – a needling facilitator who lost all credibility with many of his astonished constituents this week after taking to social media to dismiss the concerns of suffering Volusia County residents by posting pictures and articles of past regional flooding events, some dating to the 1920’s…

In turn, Councilman Robins tried to use my prior public service in a pernicious effort to add credibility to his ridiculous apples to acorns comparison.

My God…

Apparently, during his exhaustive research to prove waterlogged residents wrong, Robins found a 2009 article in The Daytona Beach News-Journal quoting me during my service as Chief of Police for the City of Holly Hill.

The quote came from an interview conducted with reporter Eileen Zaffiro-Kean while I was actively managing a critical incident impacting thousands of area residents when unusual atmospheric conditions dumped 30-inches of rain in 72-hours – forcing an estimated four-billion-gallons of water into Northeast Volusia stormwater systems – overwhelming infrastructure and inundating the area with massive flooding resulting in a Presidential disaster declaration. 

During that difficult time, I reported to Holly Hill residents, “(The rain) just overwhelmed the system,” Barker said. Pumps couldn’t even be used in some areas because there was no dry place close enough to send the water, he said.  “Once the rain stopped, our system worked efficiently, Barker said.”  

Because that was the truth. 

Maybe Mr. Robins should look that concept up in the dictionary?

(I wonder how much could be accomplished if Danny spent half as much time worrying about the serious issues facing his constituents as he does scheming to marginalize the concerns of residents who fear the imminent loss of their homes, agricultural properties, and quality of life?)

In the aftermath of Mr. Robins’ flippant brushoff, a rightfully indignant long-time Volusia County taxpayer and business owner sent me a note regarding Mr. Robins’ social media post:

“The nerve of that Danny Robins to gaslight us and try to make us believe that the 2009 100-year storm was the equivalent to the flooding we are experiencing with these trickling minor rainstorms.” 

Other area residents reported that following malignant sprawl and the resultant destruction of greenspace, their properties – which never saw flooding in the past – are now inundated each rain event. 

Yet, Robins – and those malleable “experts” on the public dole in the cloistered Inner Sanctum at Volusia County – refuse to admit that explosive development has drastically changed the topography of the land, paved over recharge areas and permeable surfaces, filled wetlands in a weird “hurt here, help there” mitigation strategy, overwhelmed estuaries, drowned outdated drainage systems, and resulted in standing water on once dry adjacent properties causing millions of dollars in damage and displacement.

Why is that?

Last week, the City of New Smyrna Beach – whose citizens are “represented” by “Gaslight” Robins – adopted an emergency ordinance temporarily blocking building permits in the Venetian Bay area. 

According to a report by Brenno Carillo writing in the News-Journal, the move came following recurring flooding that has resulted “…in property damage concerns but also in public health and safety concerns for affected residents, who are calling for a resolution to problems identified in the area’s stormwater system.”

One resident quoted in the article said what everyone else in Volusia County (except those holding high office) are thinking, “The additional impervious surfaces and runoff will only exacerbate the existing serious drainage issues that we have within the area…”

Many of Mr. Robins’ worried constituents agree.

In my view, it is easier for our dullards on the dais to deceive residents and dismiss the concerns of affected property owners – refusing to admit the problem even exists – manipulating the truth, causing residents to question their own perceptions and experience, downplaying concerns, and sending a clear message that those we elect and appoint to address these threats care more about facilitating additional growth for their greed-crazed benefactors and influential insiders than they do about protecting the lives and livelihoods of existing residents.

More to the point, quality mitigation efforts require strategic vision – the ability to learn from the past – and an unselfish willingness to put pet projects and petty politics on the backburner and direct critical time and resources to serving the common good. 

With that as a benchmark, don’t expect anything of substance from Councilman Robins or this shambolic shit show of a county government that our tax dollars continue to underwrite – now a massive public trough filled to the brim with some $1.2 billion of our money annually…  

And Another Thing!

By what must be official design, the portal through which taxpayers can provide input on the issues important to our lives and livelihoods is getting smaller all the time, now reduced to a three-minute audience before those stone-faced gargoyles on the dais of power who are strategically prohibited by internal “policy” from responding to citizens seeking to participate in the decision-making process.

If you have the time and stomach for it, residents can contact their elected “representative” directly and listen to a few minutes of disingenuous gladhanding, backslapping, and commiseration before being shunted into the bureaucratic ether. 

Just don’t expect anything of substance to come from either option. 

It’s not about you.

The concept of citizen advisory boards is to provide a diverse perspective on the issues, encourage “buy in,” and increase communication and transparency.  These committees improve the democratic process by involving the active participation of those who pay the bills in shaping public policy.  

So, while the critical issues of our time go unaddressed – and the majority of our wholly compromised hand-puppets on the dais turn their full attention to undermining Chairman Jeff Brower ahead of a critical election that will determine complete conformity to the whims of special interests – this week, the Volusia County Council took up the time-wasting exercise of considering eliminating or consolidating citizen advisory boards.    

Boy, did they get an earful…                 

On Tuesday, over thirty active and engaged citizens let our elected victims of bureaucratic aphasia (a weird malady contracted by pompous politicians that prevents them from hearing, or responding to, the needs of their constituents) know their serious concerns about the possible elimination or “consolidation” of several boards, to include the Cultural Council of Volusia County, the Environmental and Natural Resource Advisory Committee, and the Volusia Forever and ECHO boards.

It did my beat-up old heart good…

Former Volusia County Councilmember and veteran civic activist Pat Northey used her three-minutes to call “BS” on the idea and asked that the agenda item be voted down in its entirety. 

Good for her.

As a long-time proponent of both the Volusia Forever and ECHO initiatives, Ms. Northey was concerned about the council combining the individual governing boards – something Councilman David “No Show” Santiago scoffed at – puffing that the council has never discussed the notion (apparently not realizing the agenda item clearly said it “May be possible to combine (the ECHO board) with Volusia Forever Advisory Committee…”) 

Chairman Brower pointed out that the presentation merely contained staff “suggestions” – not recommendations: 

“Apparently, everybody has read the item (apparently not “everybody”), which is really encouraging,” Brower said. “I’m glad that you’re paying attention — we need that.”

When talk turned to the 14-member Environmental and Natural Resource Advisory Committee (ENRAC) – who work with county staff on policy, goal setting, and ordinance implementation regarding growth management, environmental resource management, and minimum standards for the protection of the environment – it became apparent our slippery “representatives” envisioned a convenient scapegoat for one of the most emergent issues of our time…  

During a subsequent discussion, Councilman Santiago suggested that ENRAC take a larger role in stormwater issues (read: “widespread flooding”) – creating another political insulation committee – an expedient group to blame for Volusia County’s abject failure to find solutions to this growing problem as the bulldozers continue to roar.

Especially now that property owners throughout Volusia County see the standing water slowing creeping toward their door – and are demanding answers…   

For a glimpse of their grim future, ENRAC members should skim what is euphemistically known as the “Grippa Report” – the final work product of an impressive committee once charged by the Volusia County Council with developing a comprehensive revitalization strategy for the Halifax area’s struggling beachside.

I suspect they can find a copy of the ill-fated Beachside Redevelopment Committee’s findings moldering on some dust-covered shelf in the bowels of a musty dead records morgue in DeLand – right next to the yellowing remnants of the unread “2011 Tourism Study” – another time-wasting exercise, wherein the Volusia County Council paid $100,000 to an out-of-state consultant to conduct a review which found that our beachside “tourism product” was a serious impediment to attracting visitors and economic development, and concluded “…there is no “plan” for who is leading the effort and how these challenges can be improved.”

“Without resources – leadership and economic – the overall tourism experience in Volusia County will decline.  An overall collaborative strategy is needed.”  

What’s changed? 

Sorry ENRAC volunteers.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

For the moment, it appears the Cultural Arts Council, Volusia Forever, and ECHO boards are safe from either the chopping block or bureaucratic blender – but I don’t hold out much hope for the Code Enforcement Board (which will be replaced by a special magistrate), Library Advisory Board, Animal Control Board, or the Business Incubator Advisory Board…

It seems Councilman Jake Johansson believes some of these county committees are stifled by the openness and transparency provided by Florida’s Sunshine Law.

He seems to think that without those pesky legal constrictions – those wishing to participate in the process could meet over coffee, chat amongst themselves, develop substantive solutions, then come before the Volusia County Council – where their suggestions can be wholly ignored by those catatonic do-nothings who refuse to interact, answer questions, (or even acknowledge) anyone who takes the time to appear before them.  

Whatever.

In Volusia County, the more things change – the more they remain the same… 

That’s all for me.  Have a safe and enjoyable final weekend of Bike Week 2024, y’all!

Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the newsmakers of the day – the winners and losers – who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life, or detracted from it, in some significant way.

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Asshole           Volusia County Council

Has anyone ever listened to a State of the City/County address that began:

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have grim news to report. 

In our overweening desire to please those wealthy masters who finance our campaigns and control everything but the ebb and flow of the Atlantic tide here on the “Fun Coast,” we have allowed explosive growth to outpace infrastructure and essential services, resulting in massive flooding, the ongoing destruction of our sensitive environment and wildlife habitat, disruptive school rezoning, traffic gridlock, and myriad quality of life issues, all while saddling our children and grandchildren with the crippling debt that will ultimately be required to fix it. 

As such, our chief priority this fiscal year will be using your tax dollars to construct a $10.2 million motocross track…” 

Of course you haven’t.  Because that’s the unvarnished truth.

Following Chairman Jeff Brower’s State of the County address last month, it seems the remainder of our elected dullards on the dais of power didn’t like what he had to say.  I guess Brower’s call for an end to destroying wetlands to facilitate new development and open more of our beach to those who pay for it was too much for his “colleagues” to swallow… 

So, last Tuesday, the majority took it upon themselves to ignore the dictate of the Volusia County Charter and stripped Chairman Brower of his right to independently report to Volusia County residents on “the activities of county government,” and present “new and revised goals and objectives for future action.”

In yet another off-the-agenda “public policy by ambush” vote, the majority will now “review” the Chairman’s speech ahead of time – censoring the content to ensure dubious goals, objectives, and “accomplishments” fit neatly into their template of conformity.

As this latest timewasting political theater progressed, the bought and paid for chattel of our wealthy overseers took the opportunity to cut into Chairman Brower over his single-handed attempt to protect our environment, ensure water quality and quantity, and make our beach more accessible. 

Then, after spending the last year haranguing, opposing, and ridiculing him at every turn – they painted Mr. Brower as “unprofessional.”

Apparently, Volusia’s “Old Guard” – those behind-the-scenes puppeteers who control the rods-and-strings of their obsequious marionettes on the dais – also took exception to Brower’s stance on restoring beach driving from East ISB to the Boardwalk, citing “That taking of public beach has done great harm to the economy of local businesses in the area and our personal enjoyment.”

He’s right. 

Don’t take my word for it.  Ask struggling beachside business owners what they think of the idea…

In addition, the majority also demanded that Brower stop using county letterhead to correspond with Gov. Ron DeSantis and others touting any position that could be misconstrued as coming from the council as a whole.

That includes anything other than lockstep groupthink and faux optimism as Rome burns – and strategically blocks Mr. Brower’s future efforts to bring attention to the pending destruction of the Spruce Creek watershed with runoff from the proposed Pioneer Trail interchange, his staunch opposition to Belvedere Terminal’s plan to put a 13-million-gallon bulk fuel storage site in Ormond Beach, destructive flooding, and other ecological disasters in the making.   

Who are these egotistical shitheels to tell the County Chair what he will and won’t do in service to his constituents? 

An excellent article by Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal last week captured the spirit of their well-coordinated and meanspirited attack:

“District 3 Councilman Danny Robins raised concerns about arguments on the council.

“Think it’s highly unprofessional,” Robins said. “We all get our time up here. If we have opposing views, we use our time. We don’t get into a back-and-forth spat with each other. It just doesn’t look good. It looks like two fools arguing.”

Robins also took issue with Brower’s message to the governor.”

Bullshit. 

In his weird form of political gaslighting, Councilman Robins has repeatedly balled up his hands, stomped his little feet, and launched into one of his long-winded stream-of-consciousness blusters – openly goading Chairman Brower into an angry confrontation every time he has opened his mouth on an issue since he took office…

In turn, Councilman David “No Show” Santiago – who couldn’t be bothered to attend the State of the County address even though it was held in his district – got his licks in:

“That letter that’s out there should be corrected or taken down because I did get a copy of it from someone on social media — because it’s inaccurate,” Santiago said. “Again, I’m not trying to take anybody’s right to speak, but that’s what happens when you get into these areas. It gets dangerous. And if you make mistakes, you get called out on it. And that was one particular mistake, and I don’t appreciate words being put in my mouth.”

Santiago also criticized Brower for his comments on beach driving because that isn’t the position of the council.”

It didn’t end there… 

“At-Large Representative Jake Johansson said he believes it’s “extremely important” for the council to review a template of what the council will present at the “State of the County” event.

“This is not the president’s State of the Union. We don’t have a chief executive elected official,” he said.

Johansson added that he doesn’t want to be surprised by the contents of the “State of the County” event. Johansson made a motion to have the council pre-approve the contents of the “State of the County” event, including the chairman’s speech. Brower is running for reelection this year, so it’s not clear whether he’ll still be the chairman in 2025.

The County Council approved that motion 6-1, with Brower dissenting.”

In his defense, Brower explained that “…county staff told him the State of the County address is his speech and gave him “free rein.” Brower said he made clear in his speech what goals were his personal goals that he would bring to the council.”

Interesting set-up, eh?

The fact is, our County Charter directs the Chair to address both the Council and Volusia County residents annually – and some cheap power move by these carping Monarchical figureheads does not usurp that responsibility – or dictate that the Chairman only speak of things that feed the enormous egos of the other six…      

In my view, Chairman Brower should have made a point of publicly telling these lecturing weasels just where they could shove their haughty notion of ‘going along and getting along.’

In a pique of pomposity, Councilman Johansson said he would not attend next year’s address if it weren’t scripted in advance – then accused Chairman Brower of taking his brutal tag-team thrashing “a little personal.”

My God.  What a pretentious blowhard…  

Look, I’m the first to admit – Chairman Brower can be his own worst enemy. 

When he announced his reelection campaign last May, Mr. Brower promised supporters he was “taking the gloves off” – now, I’m not even sure he knows what the term means.  Let’s face it, being publicly kicked in the crotch repeatedly by petty politicians without punching back doesn’t inspire confidence…  

Regardless, this pernicious practice of Brower’s “colleagues” campaigning for his competition from the dais is horribly divisive – ethically and morally wrong – but it is nothing new.

Trust me.  There is a reason our uber-wealthy insiders want lockstep conformity on the Volusia County Council – and it has nothing to do with reducing the size and cost of government, making essential services more efficient, protecting our threatened environment, or preserving what remains of our increasingly claustrophobic quality of life. 

Chairman Brower was right about one thing:  Volusia County residents deserve better…

Asshole           Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito

Once again, Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito has left her elected bosses feverishly backpedaling, this time after she fired off a missive to School Superintendent LaShakia Moore suggesting Flagler County would be reducing or eliminating its $1.4 million commitment to the School District as part of a decade old 50/50 cost-sharing plan, most of which funds the School Resource Deputy program.

Let’s face it, this is not the first time Ms. Petito has left County Commissioners scratching their heads as they tried to recall authorizing one of her brusque communiques – which often have all the subtlety of a fart in church – such as insinuating to parents that protecting their children isn’t a priority for Flagler County Commissioners…   

According to an informative article in FlaglerLive! last week, we learned:

“Petito’s letter was phrased in a way that makes it seem as if the county has already made its decision. It has not: commissioners are interested in having that discussion, but Commission Chairman Andy Dance said the 50-50 cost-sharing approach is no longer sustainable. Dance was previously a school board member. He understands the district’s budget and the pressures it’s under.

“I am writing to inform you of an important decision regarding our ongoing financial commitment to the school district,” Petito wrote Moore on Feb. 13 (the day before the sixth anniversary of the Parkland school massacre), summarizing the county’s support “through various legacy expenditures” over the years. “However, after careful review and consideration, we have concluded that we can no longer sustain annual legacy expenditures that are not directly aligned with our strategic plan or mandated by state statute, while at the same time achieving our responsibility as county government.”

Wow.  Sounds cut-and-dried to me…

I’m just spit-balling here, but it seems like there are other areas to trim in Flagler County government before eliminating funding for school security – a point well made by Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly in a December 2023 letter to the Board of County Commissioners following a mention of the funding cut at a budget workshop.

Sheriff Staley said, in part:

“After the horrific tragedy of the high school shooting in Parkland in 2017, which left 17 students and staff dead and 17 injured, the Florida Legislature passed new laws in 2018 and 2019 encompassing a number of significant changes and requirements for school safety.

What they didn’t change was the Florida Department of Education Safe Schools funding formula, which they should have. The current formula, developed in the 1980s, penalizes school districts that are in low-crime rate counties, such as Flagler County. Now that school safety requirements are the same across every county, the formula should have been changed, too.

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has 12 Deputies plus a supervisor assigned to Flagler County’s traditional schools, who provide security, investigate campus incidents, mentoring, and leadership to over 13,000 students at nine public schools, plus one charter school. Each campus has one SRD (School Resource Deputy), with the exception of our two High Schools, which have two SRDs at each campus.

These campuses, especially our high schools, are small cities. Flagler County SRDs are equipped with all necessary equipment to include medical kits with tourniquets, bandages, and gloves. They also wear ballistic vests with a rifle plate and have immediate access to an AR-15 to help protect them and others and to immediately stop a threat to our children.”

Now, parents, board members, and other stakeholders feel “blindsided” by Ms. Petito’s notice – and the tone of the correspondence left many believing the funding cuts had already been decided.  

A follow-up article in FlaglerLive! reported that both Dance and Commissioner Dave Sullivan walked back comments regarding Petito’s missive in an interview – with Dance claiming that his comments at the December workshop were merely to “open a discussion” about transitioning the expenses – and that the Commission had given consensus to “look” at the expenses,” clarifying that there was no agreement to end funding.  

In an earlier interview with FlaglerLive!, it was reported that Flagler County Commissioner Leann Pennington said she was “caught off guard” by Petito’s letter – and while she recalled the budget discussion regarding “legacy expenses,” Ms. Pennington could not remember the Commission giving consensus for Petito to act.

Last year, at the BOCC’s direction, Ms. Petito sent a letter to all Flagler County municipalities soliciting support for a sales tax increase – correspondence that some felt contained erroneous information – including a statistic that “..almost 40% of the funds collected will be paid by non- residents,” which was, in the view of many, complete bullshit.

That “miscommunication” turned into something of a good ‘ol Flagler County bruhaha that left County Commissioners red-faced… 

Now this? 

The ruckus prompted Flagler County Commission Chair Andy Dance to issue a long-winded manifesto this week – alternately blaming the messenger, FlaglerLive!, for the confusion – then reassuring parents that there is no “immediate threat” to alter current SRD funding, stating “…there will be meetings occurring soon to initiate a collaborative approach to evaluate funding constraints and opportunities that face the District and the County to address the County’s concerns. There is no predetermined timeline for action on these discussions. School Resource Deputies are not leaving school campuses.”

Find Chairman Dance’s rambling declaration here: http://tinyurl.com/mtxkmj5b

Regardless, as often happens when people feel “blindsided” on both sides of the dais – there remains righteous public backlash that has left the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners clearly scrambling with egg on their face…

That’s rarely a good look for a County Administrator…  

Given the explosive growth that Flagler County and Palm Coast officials continue to advance – it is time to determine how the infrastructure and essential services required to meet increasing demand will best be shared – preferably in an environment free of chaos, confusion, and mixed-signals from Ms. Petito. 

Angel               Defenders of the former Osceola Elementary School

It is bitter-sweet when those who take a stand against the machinations of those we have elected to represent our interests are vindicated – and this week it became apparent that the intrepid parents, staff, and officials who sensed something strange afoot and fought so hard to save Ormond Beach’s only beachside school were right all along…

In 2021, in a shambolic process that defied any reasonable concept of “due process” – with inadequate public notice and virtually no public input – the Volusia County School Board voted to close Osceola Elementary in favor of spending millions in public funds to build a new school on the site of the former Ortona Elementary in Daytona Beach, then consolidate students and teachers at the new Beachside Elementary.     

The decision, which disrupted hundreds of lives – one that had been clearly reached in advance – was challenged by parents and stakeholders of Osceola Elementary, to include a petition signed by some 600 concerned residents, and a controversial $2 million pledge by the City of Ormond Beach to help with renovations and repairs of the campus. 

In the end, none of it mattered.  

Then, last October, we began to hear rumblings that our district’s “brain trust” was considering relocating Riverview Learning Center – an “alternative education” program for students who have violated the “code of conduct” and been removed from other schools – from its current location on North Wild Olive Avenue (with a satellite location ten-miles away on Herbert Street) to the former Osceola Elementary campus in Ormond Beach.   

In turn, taxpayers heard the usual dirges about how the Riverview campus – constructed in the 1920’s – has been allowed to rot into such disrepair that renovations are now estimated at $5 million (I always assume those arbitrary estimates are arrived at by the same facilities maintenance, operations, and management “experts” who allowed the property to decay in the first place…)   

Whatever.

At the time, Elizabeth Albert, president of Volusia United Educators, the union representing teachers and paraprofessionals, demanded answers for those displaced during the consolidation: “They don’t understand this,” Albert said to the School Board, “Some of the comments here: ‘It wasn’t good enough to restore for us, but now it is?'”

To my knowledge, Ms. Albert never got an adequate explanation…

Neither did disappointed Ormond Beach residents. 

But now we know the miraculous answer. 

On Tuesday, the rumors and speculation inherent to Superintendent Carmen Balgobin’s administration were confirmed when the School Board voted to approve the transfer of the Riverview campus to Osceola.   

In an excellent article this week by Jarleene Almenas writing in the Ormond Beach Observer, we learned:

“School Board members Ruben Colon and Anita Burnette said the district should commit to making some improvements to the Osceola campus to better accommodate the Riverview students. While School Board member Carl Persis agreed, he also said that the board needs to be informed of how much those improvements will cost and what they will look like.

“We decided to abandon Osceola because it was going to cost too much money to renovate it,” Persis said. “And we said, ‘Let’s just build a brand new school’ … I don’t want students to be a substandard facility.”

I found it interesting how much things have magically improved at the Osceola campus… 

According to the Observer, Superintendent Balgobin now reports “…the improvements suggested for the Osceola campus would be minimal. District staff confirmed that facilities, like the cafeteria, were in good shape.”

What about the dilapidated Riverview facility, you ask?   

Well, it appears that facility has also undergone some supernatural transformation and is now perfectly capable of housing offices for district staff!

According to Patty Corr, chief operating officer for Volusia County Schools:

“We were just having a conversation before the board meeting that we are in desperate need of space, for office space, for personnel in all parts of our county and looking at repurposing the physical building of Riverview,” Corr said.”

What a crazy coincidence!  

Amazing how everything has a way of miraculously working itself out when you simply ignore the input and objections of your constituents, eh? 

I hope Volusia County voters will remember this mystical legerdemain come election time…

Quote of the Week

“Imagine the following ad for the recruitment of a city manager for Deltona:

“HELP WANTED — Someone with the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job, the humility of Jesus, the compassion of a missionary, the thick and armored “skin of an alligator,” the toughness of a Marine, the warmth of a golden retriever, and the resolve to maintain these qualities during natural disasters, storms and human-caused crises. Apply today.”

More than four years after Jane Shang exited as city manager, Deltona’s quest for someone to come into town and solve all the problems is once again gaining attention and traction. With the City Commission’s blessing, Colin Baenziger and Associates, the executive-search firm Deltona has contracted to lead the search, has prepared a brochure to supplement its advertising in publications and online to reach potential applicants for the position.

Newly appointed City Commissioner Troy Shimkus noted Deltona has a reputation for being “dysfunctional,” beset with plenty of challenges in a time of nonstop growth.”

–Reporter Al Everson, West Volusia Beacon, “HELP WANTED: Applications open in Deltona manager search,” Friday, February 23, 2024

The Lost City of Deltona’s advertisement for its next City Manager isn’t so much a call for applications as it is a cry for help – an “S.O.S.” of extreme distress – an urgent appeal by citizens and city staff desperately seeking stability. 

Sorting out this mess isn’t going to be easy…   

My three decades in public service provided many lessons about human nature and the effect of unbridled power on small minds in the confines of a municipal government – and the devastating fallout that ensues.    

One key lesson is that a community’s inability to attract and retain quality senior administrators is a key indicator of a government in crisis – and by that metric the Lost City of Deltona has soared past the “crisis stage” and is now an abject shit show – choreographed, produced, and performed in the raging inferno of a dumpster fire…

For instance, earlier this week, Deltona became a front-page/above the fold laughingstock when Mayor Santiago Avila, Jr. – for what he must have thought the best of reasons (?) – unilaterally named March 13 “L. Ron Hubbard Day” in honor of the controversial founder of the Church of Scientology – then clumsily rescinded the proclamation in a ham-handed social media post…   

Perhaps worse – after embarrassing himself, Mayor Avila couldn’t shut-up about it.  Later claiming in a solo statement on social media that he had single-handedly “made the choice” that the City of Deltona will no longer issue faith-based proclamations…

That on-going confusion is why not too many experienced administrators worth their salt – some of whom have been chewed up and spit out in internecine political wars in other unfortunate places – will be willing to try their hand at sorting the gut-wrenching dysfunction of a Civic Thunderdome like Deltona. 

In my view there is plenty of blame to go around – and that ugly history should be unpacked, spread out, and openly aired beyond a blurb in a headhunter’s brochure that reads, “…some in the public have lost trust in the government,” and “Commission meetings have, on occasion, become raucous.”

The sales pamphlet also (almost comically) warns, “Deltona has a variety of competing interests. The ideal candidate will be immune to pressure. He/she will be strong but diplomatic, and have the skin of an alligator. Finding common ground, and bringing people to a consensus will be key to success.”

Tall order.  I would add bring your own whip, chair, and asbestos underwear to the list… 

I’ve said this before, now is the time for the Deltona City Commission to put their petty personal agendas aside, act responsibly, and come together for the common good (look that term up in your “Elected Official” handbook) and remain vigilant at this critical time.

Because there will always be self-serving opportunists waiting to take advantage of a leadership void – fakes and frauds with one good suit and a briefcase – failed screwballs, and “managers in transition,” looking for their next victim – confidence artists who speak in acronyms and bureaucratese who will offer their services in hopes of backdooring a six-figure gig in the sun. 

As things play out, those behind-the-scenes power players in Deltona who manipulate their hand-select Muppets on the dais should allow this process to progress free of external meddling. 

There is a time to work the system – and a time to allow the system to work – and this one’s important…     

And Another Thing!

“Volusia County is giving serious consideration to the construction of a $10.2 million motocross track in the county.

The County Council heard a presentation this week from Hunden Strategic Partners about options for a track. The council asked for more information on each option presented by the consultant, so the matter will come back for further discussion.

The options include the county building and managing the track on its own or creating a public-private partnership, where a private firm manages operations and pays the county a share of the profits.

County officials are considering an area off Tomoka Farms Road west of the city of Port Orange.”

–Reporter Sheldon Gardner, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Volusia council mulls $10.2M motocross facility,” Friday, February 23, 2024

“Come with me and you’ll be, In a world of pure imagination…”

“Take a look and you’ll see, Into your imagination…”

“We’ll begin with a spin, Traveling in the world of my creation, What we’ll see will defy explanation…”

–Willy Wonka, 1971

One year ago, Volusia County Councilman Troy Kent expressed interest in establishing what would later become a dog friendly section of beach.  He also resurrected the possibility of allowing double-taxed residents to drive on the beach toll-free by charging out-of-county visitors a little extra for vehicular access and parking in beachfront parks.

That didn’t happen… 

As you may recall, Kent’s suggestion dissolved into a grim discussion of metered parking in off-beach lots for everyone, and the specter of raising beach tolls and fees for residents and visitors alike.  

Remember?  I do. 

Initially, naysayers painted the dog beach idea as so prohibitively expensive that it would cause financial Armageddon for Volusia County.  At the time, Councilman Danny Robins moved to squash the idea early, wringing his hands, and moaning the Poormouth Blues:

“The big elephant in the room is, how are we going to pay for it?  I don’t want to hear that we have a $1.2 billion budget — that’s not a sufficient answer … We’re in an economic decline.”

In turn, Councilman Don Dempsey was more direct – warning that Volusia County families should “suck it up” and expect to pay more for a day at the beach.   

Yeah.  That didn’t age well…

In October 2023, in a blatant example of a self-absorbed elected official using public funds to feather their own nest – Councilman Dempsey sprung a cockamamie idea for a taxpayer funded “public motocross facility” in an off-the-agenda sleight-of-hand for the ages. 

While the rest of us rubes (Read: “Taxpayers”) are shaking in our boots over the complete lack of a comprehensive transportation infrastructure plan, overstressed public utilities, dwindling water quality in area rivers and lakes, massive flooding across the width and breadth of Volusia County, dangerous fuel terminals near residential areas, a complete lack of beach management and hodge-podge coastal erosion control, struggling emergency medical services, a broken zoning and permitting apparatus, dangerous conditions in correctional facilities, public safety concerns, lack of “high paying” jobs, safe and affordable housing, an artificial economy where government picks winners and losers, rising taxes and fees, density, congestion, malignant overdevelopment, etc., etc. – we learn that Councilman Dempsey’s most pressing priority – his Number One concern – the greatest single urgency facing Volusia County residents – is our lack of a motocross track? 

Really?

“It’s been proposed and we put it on the meeting agenda about two or three months ago when each councilman talked about what they think would be their priority if they had a wish list,” Dempsey said. “My priority was a motocross facility, because we have been needing it. We are 30 years past due for one.”

I don’t make this shit up, folks…                       

   

Unbelievably, what everyone thought was just a weird fantasy dancing around in Mr. Dempsey’s Wonkaesque imagination is now gaining traction as the Volusia County Council spent public funds hiring a consultant to tell them that a publicly funded motocross track, built on publicly-owned land near Port Orange, will cost you and I an estimated $10.2 million (I say “estimated” because I’ve never known a government project that came in close to the initial estimated budget, have you?) 

What?  You’re a senior citizen living on a fixed income, worried about the dearth of affordable housing, astronomical insurance premiums, and explosive sprawl that is making traffic unbearable and forcing you to wait hours for treatment in overcrowded area emergency rooms, and you don’t want your tax dollars shunted to a ridiculous $10.2+ million “nice to have”? 

Tough shit, Granny.  Don Dempsey has his ‘priorities’…

As history proves here on the “Fun Coast”, those malleable Good ‘ol Boys who “get along and go along” and protect the stagnant status quo get whatever they want – and those who refuse to conform and stand for the real needs of their long-suffering constituents get the Bastinado treatment on the dais – in front of God and everybody, during an election year – for even acknowledging the pressing issues of our time.    

Sound familiar? 

That’s all for me.  Have a great Bike Week 2024, y’all!